Dust and Motes
by shandromand
Summary: You'd think that a Wizard could catch a break once in a while. Such is often not the case. For once, Harry Dresden gets a tough one, and it won't be easy. Takes place after Skin Game and Canon RWBY events play out up to v3e10
1. Prelude

**AN – This was originally part of a monthly contest that used to be held on the RWBY subreddit - It's actually more germane to the sister story, The Twelve Swords of Penny Polendina. If you're new here, and would rather jump right in to the Dresdenverse, skip ahead to the next chapter. ;)  
**

Yang thrust her arms behind her and fired twin bursts from Ember Celica, launching herself at Emerald with a scream of rage. Her golden hair whipped behind her as she swung fists into a fighting stance. Emerald fired several shots from her pistols. Yang deflected them with ease, then let loose another blast from her right as she came in contact with Emerald. She extended the blades in her pistols to block at the last second as Mercury tried to flank Yang on the same side.

Yang allowed the explosion to spin her around, lashing out at Mercury's leg and firing again to knock his foot out of the way. The round caught him by surprise, but he recovered by cartwheeling back the way he came. The blond teenager fired two more bursts to complete the spin, raising her arm to block the overhand strike Emerald leveled at her. She sent a knee careening into Emerald's midriff and was rewarded with an explosive grunt. She dropped that knee and snapped her other knee up into the green-haired girl's chin. The satisfying crunch propelled her head back up as Mercury leveled another kick-shot at Yang.

"Em!" he shouted, too late to stop the round from slamming into the back of her head. She cried out and her eyes rolled up, then her aura flashed out. Mercury growled at Yang and flung himself into the air. This was it! They were both going to pay for what they'd done to Ruby, to _all_ of them. She grabbed Emerald's slackening hand from beneath, crushing it around the pistol grip and spun the both of them in a tight arc. At the apex of the turn, Yang fired her last shell and threw all her strength behind it. She'd left her guard down a moment too long, and Mercury's foot made contact with her shoulder.

Yang's last thought was, 'worth it' as the blade of Emerald's weapon pierced his leg just below the knee. She had a moment of confusion when the sound made a metallic crunch. She just barely made out the look of horror spreading across Mercury's face, then everything went white.

 **ATLAS FLAGSHIP, AAF Striker**

"Miss Rose! You should not be out of bed," the nurse chided the young woman. Ruby didn't care. She had heard the doctors talking in the hall – she had to know, to see for herself. She stumbled and leaned against the wall for support, the nurse reached out to help her.

"Don't!" Ruby hung her head. Her face, half swathed in bandages, hung down as she scrunched up her good eye and breathed heavily for a moment. "I need to see my sister, please!"

The nurse laid her hand on Ruby's shoulder gently. "They said you were a stubborn one. If you promise to wait right here, I'll fetch a wheelchair and take you to her." Ruby could only nod as she steadied her breathing. "Alright, come on. Let's have you sit down," settling her into an empty chair nearby. The nurse patted her on the knee and said, "I'll be back in a moment, Miss Rose."

"Thank you, Nurse Polly, I promise," Ruby said, quietly. The dark-haired woman clucked her tongue and waggled a finger, but did so with a soft smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

"Miss Rose, please, I've asked you to just call me Polly." She stood and walked away, heels clacking on the tile floor, bushy tail swishing from side to side.

"Only if you stop calling me 'Miss Rose'," she mumbled in reply. The redhead fidgeted with her bandages while she waited, which wasn't long. A few minutes later, Nurse Polly returned with the promised wheelchair. She helped Ruby move into it, then pushed her down the hall. Ruby's legs were too short, so she swung her feet back and forth.

"How is she, really, Nurse Polly? Can you tell me? Is it bad?" Nurse Polly didn't immediately reply. "It's okay, I won't freak out." Ruby wasn't sure who she was trying to convince – Nurse Polly or herself.

"You should know, Miss Rose, the damage was extensive-

"Was?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. Mr. Black had prosthetic legs. During their fight, the dust chamber on one of them was ruptured and exploded violently. Both they and Miss Sustrai were at the blast's core. It leveled the warehouse they were in." The nurse sighed. "The doctors tried their best to save her arm," she trailed off. "Her aura was completely depleted, but it's slowly recovering and healing the other injuries now."

"Oh," Ruby intoned quietly. Hearing that Yang lost an arm didn't really sink in. "What about Mercury and Emerald? Did they make it?" She _really_ wanted them to pay for all the horrible things they'd done to, well, everyone. Getting beat up by her sister didn't seem good enough.

"No, they did not." Ruby twisted around to look up at the nurse, whose features were grim. "Mr. Black lost too much blood, and Miss Sustrai was killed by shrapnel-"  
Ruby faced forward, staring down the empty hallway. She tried as much as she could to hide her frustration and disappointment. It would have to do.

"Good." Nurse Polly gasped at that. "They were not good people, Nurse Polly." She paused to take a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. "Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood said I shouldn't talk about it, but they were really bad."

"I see," Nurse Polly trailed off. They turned a corner and continued on in silence for several minutes.

"Just how big is this ship, anyway?" Ruby asked. She knew the Atlas flagship was big, but it seemed to go on forever.

Nurse Polly brightened at the change of subject. "Oh! I couldn't say in precise mathematical terms. I do know it takes about ten minutes to walk from port to starboard, and almost forty minutes front to b- er, bow to stern." She stopped in front of a door and turned the wheelchair to face it. "Here we are, then. Are you ready?" she asked. Ruby nodded, closing her eye and inhaling deeply through her nose, easing the breath out slowly through parted lips.

They moved forward, and the door opened with a soft whine. The nurse wheeled her in, and the first thing that leapt out to assault Ruby was the scent of flowers. Lots of them. Bouquets, _everywhere,_ so many kinds and colors that she could hardly believe that many even existed. She craned her neck to look back at Nurse Polly, who smiled in spite of suspiciously wet eyes.

"Miss Xiaol- Yang... She's got a lot of people who care about her, it would seem." She pulled a handkerchief from a pocket and dabbed her eyes. "Quite a few are from your schoolmates, but most are from the soldiers in the fleet and citizens of Vale. Word spread fast."

Ruby turned back to the riot of color. Nestled in the midst of the flora sat the bed, with machines and wires beeping quietly beside it. Yang was laid out flat, sheets pulled up to her chest. Her face was a mass of fading bruises and cuts, and bandages circled her head. Ruby choked up when her eyes came to rest on Yang's right arm, which ended above the elbow. It was thoroughly covered in bandages, but clean.

"Oh, Yang, no..." she breathed. Yang was invincible. For as long as Ruby could remember, she'd never suffered so much as a skinned knee. To see her like this was heart-breaking. "Will she-" Ruby choked up momentarily. "Will she be okay?" she asked once her throat chose to cooperate again. Nurse Polly pushed the chair up to face the right side of the bed. Ruby reached out and took Yang's remaining hand in both of hers as if it were made of glass.

"There was a great deal of internal damage," she replied, walking around the bed to check the machines. "The doctors were able to mend her well enough that her aura and body could take over the healing process. And General Ironwood gave his word that if she wants a prosthetic arm, the Atlas military will spare no expense to see she gets the very best, but..." Ruby looked across the bed at Nurse Polly.

"But what?" Ruby asked, worriedly. Nurse Polly pushed a few buttons on the console and turned to face her.

The faunus' face looked very serious. "The head trauma is the problem. Her semblance is probably the only thing that kept her going, but she slipped into a coma just after surgery. They found an irregularity in her brain when they scanned her again." Nurse Polly frowned and picked up the chart scroll, reading a report. "It says they found an unusual lesion in her neocortex, and that it seems to be emitting some unknown energy signature."

Ruby scrunched her face in confusion. "What does that mean for her?"

"The chief surgeon is reluctant to operate on her until she's more fully recovered. Even then, they say there's no certainty." Nurse Polly looked up from the scroll sadly. "She might wake up tomorrow, or a month from now, or..." she didn't have the heart to finish the sentence, casting her glance to Yang's face. She reached out a hand and gently stroked her fingers across Yang's golden hair.

"She might never wake up," Ruby said it for her. A tear leaked its way out of her eye and trailed down her cheek. Nurse Polly walked around the bed and crouched down next to Ruby, placing her arm around the teen. Ruby rested her head on Polly's shoulder and tried very hard not to cry.

"You mustn't give up hope, Ruby. There's _always_ a chance she'll come back to you." She gave Ruby's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I can stay with you, if you want-"

"No, that's okay. I'll be- We'll be fine. Thank you, Nur- Thank you, Polly." Ruby reached up while still holding onto Yang and squeezed the woman's hand. She stood up and started to move away when Ruby held on. "Wait. Do Dad and Uncle Qrow know? I know they took Blake and Weiss on a mission to..." she paused a moment. "I know they all left on a mission once they knew I was going to be okay, but..."

Polly shook her head. "They've been out of range since the day after they left. Scouts were sent out, but it's a big world. I'm sure they'll be back soon to check on you." Ruby nodded and thanked Polly, who pointed out the call button on the side of Yang's bed. She exited the room, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts and her sister's soft breathing.

"Sis," Ruby spoke, leaning forward to rub her cheek across the back of her hand. "I know you're in there, somewhere. I know you can hear me. You're off having an adventure somewhere without me- us. So you have to come back and tell us all about it, okay?" It was awkward, hunched over like she was. She stood and clambered onto the bed, curling up next to Yang's legs and resting her head in her lap. "You have to come back, _please_."

Ruby talked for what seemed like hours, and it wasn't until Polly came back later to check on the sisters to find that she'd fallen asleep. Polly didn't see the harm in letting her sleep next to her sister, so she pulled the extra blanket from the foot of the bed and covered Ruby with it. The girl mumbled something unintelligible and snuggled closer to her sister. Polly watched them for a time, then slipped out soundlessly.

 _ **Elsewhere, worlds away...** _

WARDEN, ARISE. THERE IS AN INTRUDER UPON THE ISLE.  
"Oh, for the love of Pete. Can't a wizard get some sleep around here?"

* * *

1-17: Just some nitpicky things I wanted to change (word overuse, etc.)


	2. Ch 1 - Awakening

**AN – A crossover continuation of Dust and Motes, set in RWBY (all characters and places are owned by Rooster Teeth), and crossing into the Dresden-verse (all characters and places owned by Jim Butcher).**

WARDEN, ARISE. THERE IS AN INTRUDER UPON THE ISLE.

I groaned and sat up. "Oh, for the love of Pete," I muttered, "Can't a wizard get some sleep around here?" Don't get me wrong. I'm an early riser. Being a warden of a prison full of nasties doesn't exactly let you hit the snooze button. Looking out the cottage window, I could blearily see that it was too early, even for me. Grumble grumble grumble.

"Flickum bicus," I said, waving my hand. Candles popped to life. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and fumbled for my running shoes. Alfred had shown me where this intruder was. It was strange though – he couldn't give me a very good visual - Just a golden blob. Whatever it was, it was wandering around in the tunnels. Not good.

I snatched up my duster and threw it on, grabbed my staff and new blasting rod. I made my way down the hill and into the well. I made it halfway down before I started preparing spells. I had to be careful. Well, probably not, but it couldn't hurt, right? Whatever it was walking around the cells, it seemed content to do just that. Maybe it was looking for someone, or some _thing_ specific. It was about to have a very bad day. I like my sleep.

I heard it before I got near enough to see it. Funny thing was, _it_ sounded like a her.

"Hellooo." the girl said. Well hello to you too, miss sneak-onto-my-island. 'Alfred, does she seem hostile?' I sent. Having a telepathic connection did have its uses, after all.

WARDEN, IT APPEARS TO BE LOST. IT IS ARMED AND RESONATES WITH POWER.

Great. Armed and presumably dangerous. 'How armed is she? What sort of power are we talking about?'

IT BEARS GAUNTLETS ABLE TO SLING THE ELEMENTS. THE POWER EMANATES FROM ITS SOUL AS A SHIELD.

Oh. Well it- she has a soul? Maybe this won't be so bad after all. Yeah, right. Like that ever happens. I gathered my will and held up my palm. "Ignus," I intoned. A tiny sun appeared above my outstretched hand, lighting the tunnel up.

"Is somebody there?" She asked. She was just around the bend. I just could not help myself.

In my most appropriate wizardly bellicose voice, I called out, "Fee Fie Foe Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!"

"Huh? What's an Eenglish-man?" Bah. No appreciation for the classics. I stepped into view and answered, "Seriously? I give you my best g-" or rather I tried to answer. The snark died on my tongue when I got my first look at her.

She was a short girl, dressed in a canvas skirt-jacket thing that left _very_ little to the imagination. An orange scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. She wore knee-high boots that looked like Nancy Sinatra's favorite kind, and sported a pair of huge bracelets that Wonder Woman would have called overkill. But that wasn't what stopped me cold in my tracks. Her hair glowed bright yellow, as if someone had made strands of sunlight and thrown a huge riot of them on her head.

"Hello." she said, bobbing her head. Those eyes. They were violet in color, and huge, man. Like bigger than silver dollar huge. No way was she human. Summer Fae? I'd never seen any like that. "You know, mister, you might swallow a bug or something if you keep doing that. I'm Yang." I clicked my teeth shut. Sue me, she was weird, but not unpleasant to the eye.

"Hi," I answered. "I'm Harry. Harry Dresden."

"Well, nice to meet you, Harry Harry Dresden." She walked up to me and stuck out her hand. This was going awfully well. I took her hand and shook it. Alfred was right; as soon as I made contact, I could feel the energy. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I got the feeling that it could be absolutely terrible if she wanted. She seemed friendly enough. Let's see if we can keep it that way.

"You really don't know what an Englishman is?"

"Nope." She smiled when she said it. It was adorable. Down boy. I let go of her hand.

"So, Yang, what brings you to our little island, hmmm? More importantly, how did you manage to sneak past Alfred?" I mean, pleasantries and cuteness aside, someone just popping in unexpected was a problem. Was I going to have to worry about more Fae-not-Fae showing up out of the blue?

She shrugged and held her hands up. "You tell me. I was fighting Mercury and Emerald." Huh? "I had them right where I wanted them and then boom, I woke up here." Oh, those were people names, got it. What? Give me a break, I just got up.

"Speaking of which, where is here, anyway? Am I still in Vale?" She looked at the little ball of light and tried to poke it. "I tried my scroll, but the CCT is too far away I guess." Wow. Definitely not from around here.

"Toto, I don't even think this is Dorothy."

"Huh? Who's Toto?"

"Heh. Nevermind that. Clearly you are a _very_ long way from home." I paused for a moment. She seemed like a nice enough kid, and I got no heebie-jeebies off her. Mentally shrugging, I decided to lay it out for her. I mean, gotta be a decent host when unexpected guests behave themselves, right?

"You're on Demonreach Island, in Lake Michigan." She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. "Nothing, huh?" She shook her head. "It's in the United States, on the planet Earth." At that her eyes got huge. Huger. If that was even possible.

"Man, that must have been some explosion. Outta this world even." Heh. Smartass. I liked her.

"And right into this one." Two could play that game. But time to get serious. "This is not a good place, Yang."

"What do you mean? Are there Grimm nearby?" What the heck were grim?

"This place is a prison. I'm the Warden. If by grim you mean nasties, then yes." She looked around in confusion. "They're sealed away, but that doesn't stop them from talking at you."

"They can talk?" the look of skepticism she gave me clued me in. Go me, with the reading of facial expressions.

"Something tells me that my nasties aren't the same as yours. Yeah, they can talk." I waved a hand. "Not that they say anything worth hearing. 'Free me for unlimited power,' 'I will flay you alive when I escape,' 'GLABBORGLAGNOKLAH,' etcetera. Come on, follow me." She nodded and skipped up beside me as I turned to leave.

"Sooo... What'd they do?" she asked.

"Bad things. Monsters all, though I suspect at least one in particular is here by choice. He's the least chatty of the bunch." I still hadn't figured out what his deal was. He wanted to be left alone, so I let him be. I didn't like where this conversation was headed, so I changed the subject. Subtle, right?

"So tell me, Yang, where do you come from?" I doubted I'd recognize anything - half of what she said didn't make sense, but it was better than talking about my shop.

"Oh. Well I grew up on the island of Patch, just outside the Kingdom of Vale with my dad and my little sister, Ruby." She deflated a little when she mentioned her sister.

"Something wrong, Sparky?"

"Yeah. Mercury and Emerald hurt her pretty bad before I got my hands on them." She started to glow a little brighter. Maybe it was my imagination, but she seemed to emanate heat. She sure wore her heart right on her sleeve. Literally. "I hope she's okay, but I didn't want to lose their trail, so I don't know how she's doing."

"Was it bad?" I asked. I didn't want to provoke her, but something told me an angry Yang -heh, Yangry?- was more than a handful. Like a pissed off Malk kind of handful.

"Yeah. She lost an eye, and was pretty banged up. We managed to get her to the infirmary on the Striker. She's in good hands, but I need to get back to her." She stopped and looked up at me. I stopped and turned to look at her.

"I have to get back home, Harry Harry Dresden. Will you help me?" Hell's bells, I didn't have the faintest clue where to begin.

"Stars and stones, kid, I don't know if I _can_." This had trouble written all over it, with a capital T. Her face fell just a little, and she looked down at the ground. Oh hell. Do NOT start crying, pleeease. "I don't know where you're from. You don't look like anyone I've ever met or heard of. And don't take this personally, Yang, but I just met you. I don't know you." She looked back up at me, plainly hurt. I sighed. She was gonna make me do it.

"Not only that, but being warden of the world's scariest prison isn't my only responsibility. I've made plenty of enemies, big and small-" She cut me off with a knife hand.

"I'm not scared of that. You're willing to try and help me get home? Your enemies are _my_ enemies." Her eyes went from violet to red and she flared like a miniature sun. Gulp. I believed her. A wicked part of me thought of how much fun it would be to turn her loose. I bet she'd even give a Denarian a run for their money. I gave myself a mental shake.

"Alright, Sparky, fair enough." I settled a hand on her shoulder. "I have a couple of ideas, but we have to deal with the whole trust thing first." She squinted her eyes and frowned.

"What'd you have in mind? I'm game as long as it isn't gross." Oh wow. What in the hell kind of world did this kid come from?

"Nothing like that!" I all but shouted. "Hell's bells, Sparky, I'm a guy, but not _that_ kind of guy." Usually. Hey, I'm spoken for! She rolled her eyes, which had turned back to their normal color in a blink. "Come on, let's get back to my cabin first. What I actually have in mind isn't something we want to do down here." She let out a wicked chuckle.

"Are you suuuure you're not that kind of guy?" I choked on a laugh of my own.

"Brat." I turned on my heel and did my best huffy walk.

"Lech." She spouted, jogging to catch up.

"Murphy is gonna give me _so_ much hell about this." Actually, she might even clobber me. It'd been almost two weeks since we'd last seen one another. Not really sure how I'd even broach that subject. 'Oh hey, Murph, so good to see you. By the way, had this teenage girl drop in on me unexpecte-' CLOBBER. Yup, that was gonna be fun.

"Who's Murphy? Your boss? Is he hotter than you?" The little fireball was having entirely too much fun at my expense.

" _She_ is my girlfriend. So don't you go getting fresh, or I'll sic her on you." The girl laughed and smacked a fist into her open palm.

"Bring it on! I love a good cat-fight!" She practically grinned her face off at that, but I could tell she was kidding. Probably. We cleared the tunnel and I led her back to my cabin, ducking tree branches and avoiding brambles with ease. To give her credit, she navigated just as well as I did, which was saying something. She must have had woodscraft training.

"Hmmm," she mused upon seeing my cabin. "Nice! A little rustic, but it looks cozy."

"It's home." I said. I opened the door and waited for her to walk in, then followed behind her. I leaned my staff up against the door frame and took off my duster to hang it on a hook. When I turned around, Yang was peering at my bookshelf. She had one hand on her hip and the other running an index finger across the spines. "Can you actually read any of that?" Sue me, I was curious.

"Sort of. The letters are funny." She pulled out a tattered copy of The Two Towers and flipped through a few pages. "What's a hobbit?" She looked over her shoulder at me.

"The little folk of the Shire. Fictional little folk, at that." I could tell she was dithering. "Much as I would like to jabber about awesome literature, we've got something to sort out. Put that away for now and come on over here, eh?" I waved her over by the table and chairs Thomas had brought out a while back. She slipped the book back into its spot and stepped over to stand in front of me.

"Okay, so now what?" She looked up at me, mischief in her eyes. Merlin's bones! I felt bad for the guy she set her sights on. He didn't stand a chance! I shifted my gaze to look her directly in the eyes.

The world faded away and was replaced by a battlefield. A girl in white danced between black shapes, swinging a sword and throwing starbeams. Another girl with dark hair flitted between more shadows while swinging a gun on a ribbon. Yet another girl in black and red flung herself around the field with a scythe, cleaving her enemies as she careened. Blackbirds filled the sky, swooping down to worry the red eyes and claws of the creatures they fought.

Amid the chaos was a shining, burning fireball of a dragon. She was literally everywhere, helping the other girls, brawling with the darkness. She landed explosive blows and pushed back the red mawed creatures, saving her friends time and again, thrilling in the fight. And yet, for all her fervor, there was a hole in her heart that she did her best to hide. The shadow monsters kept piling on, and she kept fighting, like she'd never stop.

When the soulgaze ended, Yang stared back up at me. I didn't have to wonder what she saw. Her face flashed a dozen different emotions all at once. She closed the short distance between us so fast I could have sworn she teleported. The only other being I'd seen (or rather, not seen) move that fast was Mab. I barely had time to register that nugget. She slammed into me, driving the breath out of me with a whuff, and wrapped her arms around my ribcage in a crushing embrace. Holy. Hell. This girl was _strong_. Like, maybe I couldn't take her in a stand-up fight, strong - full-blown Winter Mantle be damned.

"It'll be okay, it'll be okay," she repeated into my chest. I gasped for air and patted her back. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was trying to literally squish the sad parts of my life out of me. She eased up, but didn't let go. I inhaled a breath of relief, but returned the hug and stroked her wild mane of hair. No burny of the wizardy, thankfully.

"It's alright, kid." I said. "It ain't all bad, ya know. I've got some good things going for me, too."

She sniffled and looked back up. "But it's so _unfair_!"

"Heh. Tell that to the bad guys. Hell's bells, talk with your fists enough and they might actually listen." She grinned evilly and stepped back. Thankfully, my spine and ribs seemed to be not crunchy bits.

"What was that, anyway? Does that happen with everyone in your world? Magic is real?" she asked. Oh boy. I held up a hand before she launched an avalanche of questions.

"Of course magic is real, Sparky." I grinned. "That was a soulgaze we just shared, and as a general rule, it doesn't happen every day. Unless the people you meet here are wizards like me, or certain other types of ... people, most just get a really good look at one another." She frowned for a moment.

"Oh. So there's not a lot of wiz- wizards, I take it?" she stumbled over the word, which was kind of cute.

"Not compared to the average person, no. You want some coffee?"

"You have coffee?" she managed to sound shocked and pleased all at once, face all lit up and everything.

"Yup! Best Joe this side of the Mizzipy, ma'am!" I shot back. "How do you take it?"

"Black as night and hot as the sun!" she shouted.

"Can do, Yang, can do." I went to fire up the stove.


	3. Ch 2 - Let's Chat

**AN – A crossover continuation of Dust and Motes, set in RWBY (all characters and places are owned by Rooster Teeth), and crossing into the Dresden-verse (all characters and places owned by Jim Butcher).**

The water didn't take long to boil. While we waited, Yang started asking questions. I answered them as best I could. She flitted to and fro like a bouncing Jack Russell Terrier. What were the people on this world like, were there monsters, how many kingdoms were there. Then she asked me a different kind of question.

"Why don't you have any electronics? Does your world not have them?" She illustrated the point by pulling out a small flat object. It seemed too small to be a cell phone, but I never really paid much attention to them. Had they really gotten that small? Wait, dummy – she's not even _from_ here. She pulled at the edges of it, and it expanded to something I was more used to seeing on the street.

"Me and technology don't get along so great, Sparky. The magic, you see. It usually shorts out complex circuits and doodads." She activated it, and I winced, waiting for the inevitable. She queued up some music. Rock music. It wasn't AC/DC or The Rolling Stones, but it sounded pretty cool.

"Well I'll be. That shouldn't even be functional. You've been around me for two hours and it still works?" She gave me the arrreyooouucrazy look. "No, really, I swear. I had an old beat up car and used a rotary phone - er, hmm. Hell's bells, I don't know how to explain that one. Basic technology works, but as soon as a computer chip gets stuck in it..." I made a bzzzt sound. "That thing works as a phone?"

"Yeah, and files and the CCT link - for finding information, books, and stuff. It can be used as a remote and it's even the key to our dorm room. Pretty much everybody on Remnant has one." She slid it across the table at me. I leaned back, not wanting to ruin it. So what? I said the music was cool. Besides, she'd need it whenever she got back to Remnant. If I could get her back there. "It's okay, Harry. If you wreck it, it's no big deal. It isn't doing me much good right now. I can get another one back home if I need to."

I poked at it and felt like a cave man. A lifetime of not playing with gadgets will do that to a guy. Still, wouldn't it be just fan-freakin-tastic if I didn't have to hunt for a payphone when I needed one? They _were_ getting harder to find. "How does it work, do you know?" Yang shook her head.

"Not really, no. Ruby's the family techie. Dad and I just kinda use stuff and have her help us figure it out, which drives her nuts." She grinned and poked her tongue out. Ah well. I turned it over and looked at the sides, but didn't see any screws or a place to plug it in.

"How do you charge it up? I don't see a socket or whatever to plug it in." Her face screwed up and she made a hunh noise. Murphy, I swear. Don't kill me, alright? "Does it just run forever?" Somebody call Nobel if that was the case.

"Oh!" She laughed and shook her head. "It's wireless. As long as a scroll is in range of the CCT, it gets power over the air. We haven't had to plug anything in since before Dad was born." Well ho-lee-mo-lee, maybe somebody really ought to call somebody.

The pot of water whistled, giving us both a little bit of a start. Thank the gods, coffee! I got up and poured the water into the waiting filter. A minute later I returned to the table with two steaming mugs. She picked up the cup with both hands and brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. "Mmmm, cooofffeeee," she moaned. She slurped. I slurped louder. She laughed and set the mug down on the table. "Man, you weren't kidding! That's the stuff right there." I grinned like an idiot. Murphy was definitely going to kill me.

"So like I said, Yang, I've got a couple of ideas about where to start with getting you back home. Can you tell me more about it?" I mean, it was weird. We shared similarities like language and coffee, but she definitely came from somewhere else. Alternate earth, maybe? Hell's bells, was such a thing even real? She furrowed her brow, trying to think where to start. "Tell me more about grim. The monsters I saw?" I offered.

"The Grimm are soulless monsters that constantly attack the borders of the kingdoms - there are four of those." I nodded for her to continue. "Vale, Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo are the safe places of Remnant. We fight the Grimm, like we always have. Nobody knows where they came from; they've always been there as far back as anybody can remember." She shrugged. "It's kinda hard to figure out what their deal is, since they don't talk, and they fade away when they die." Interesting. File that one away for later.

"So there's four kingdoms? How long have those been around?" I had to admit, this might be worth writing down. Put it in a book later or something. Hey, it could be popular. You never know...

"I couldn't say for sure," she hesitated, thinking it over a moment. "History isn't really my thing. Plus, a lot of records were lost in the Great War, which was about eighty years ago. Most people think the kingdoms have been around for about four hundred years or so." She shrugged. "The kingdoms are at peace now, so all we have to worry about are the Grimm."

"So what was the war about?" I asked.

Yang shook her head, "So many things, but, and this is gonna sound dumb," she paused to take a sip of coffee. "The big reason was all about art." My eyebrows shot up at that. Over paintings and stuff? "Right? It _is_ pretty stupid." She shook her head again. "I guess some people thought we had bigger problems to worry about - fighting the Grimm. It never made sense to me either. Fighting over how we fight? Stupid." Smart kid, even for being less than well-informed on her world's history. Then again, that didn't sound much like her fault.

"Some good did come of it, though. The academies were formed- schools for training huntsmen and huntresses. Our job is to fight the Grimm and keep the peace," she frowned, looking down into her mug. I stood up and took both over for refills. When I came back, she seemed lost in thought. I pressed the cup into her hands and sat down.

"So that's you? Training to be a soldier? Or a cop- policeman?"

"Haha! No, we have those, but they're different from us." She snickered and explained further. "Anyone who wants to become a huntsman or huntress starts off in combat school as kids," Kids? They teach kids to fight? Was Remnant really such a dangerous place? "They learn how to fight, forge weapons, and how to use dust and aura."

"Dust? What good is dust in a fight?" I asked. I mean, sure, throw it in your opponent's eyes or force enough of it down their throat, I guess.

"Oh, not that kind of dust. I'm talking about fuel. It comes in four basic types-"

"Let me guess - earth, air, fire, and water?" I asked. She grinned like an imp.

"You _do_ know what I'm talking about. Do you have any?" Oh. I guess maybe I didn't understand. At least not completely. Go me.

"Wait, you mean it's a physical substance?"

"Oh yeah," she replied. "It's raw form is crystals, which get mined out of the ground. It gets crushed and cleaned up. We use it in a lot of stuff, including the scrolls," she pointed to the little phone between us. Well, well! No wonder the thing didn't blow a gasket around me. It was based on elemental forces. "Anyway, once a kid finishes combat school, they can apply to one of the academies to train even more."

"What about aura? Is that some sort of projection of your will?" I mean, what else could it be?

"Sort of," she squinched her eyes shut, as if trying to remember something. She opened them and deadpanned, "Aura is a manifestation of the soul. It can be projected as a force to protect, or used as a devastating weapon."

"Gee, Sparky, imitating your favorite teacher, there?" I teased her.

"Oh man, you have _no_ idea. The first week of that class was a toootal snooze-fest," she punctuated it with a snort. "Mister Green harped on us for days about keeping an eye on our aura levels while we fought. I never needed to - I can just feel it, ya know?"

"Wait, hold on, you mean there's a way you can check your aura?" That blew my mind. You can't measure a soul!

"Sure!" She picked up her phone thingy (scroll?) and poked it a couple of times, then slid it across the table. I picked it up and looked, and there it was; a picture of Yang with a green bar. Color me completely shocked. But not green. I look _awful_ in green. I also noticed some smaller, dimmer pictures of three other girls in the corner, one redhead, a brunette, and a bleach-blonde girl.

"Who are these other girls?" I asked. I tapped on the redhead's picture and it expanded to fill the screen. Some words flashed across the picture, and it made a loud static noise that scared the bejesus out of me. Scary noise! Cave-wizard not like! Yang chuckled and came over to stand beside me. She tapped the screen and made a couple of squiggle gestures. A bunch of little pictures spread across the screen, and she swiped a few times and poked one. It opened up to show her and the other three girls standing on the head of a giant .. snake.. monster? She pointed to the pale white-haired girl dressed in a skirt and holding up a wicked looking rapier.

"That's the rest of my team. Weiss, the ice queen, Blake, my initiation partner," Yang moved her index finger to point at the yellow-eyed brunette with the skin-tight clothing and little black bow. Her finger moved past herself, though I did notice that her forearms were covered in armor - her bracelets turned into _those_? The finger came to rest at the red-headed, silver-eyed wisp of a girl. She was wearing a black and red skirt, a red cape, and combat boots. She was also sporting a _huge_ honkin scythe. One-handed. Over her head. "And that's my sister, Ruby." She smiled.

"How in the nine hells does she even _lift_ that thing?" I mean, she was so tiny, compared to the other girls. Yang grinned.

"Ruby's a lot stronger than she looks, and Crescent Rose isn't all that heavy." They name their weapons? Cool names, even. "You should see her in action - in fact, you can!" She made another squiggly move with her finger and a different set of pictures popped up. She picked out one. "This was her mid-semester test for her last year at Signal." I watched in amazement and horror as she faced dozens of upright wolf creatures with red eyes and teeth. Hell's bells, these kids fight monsters? For a test? Dayum.

Three of the pack ran at her, and her cape whipped around her as the not-hexenwolves leapt at her. She disappeared in a cloud of red flecks, and the picture zoomed out to show her thirty feet in the air above the very confused monsters. She pulled out a red box looking thing and it made ratcheting clanky noises while expanding into a... What? She whipped it around and pointed it at one of the wolf creatures and it thundered out a blast- "It's a gun? They let you kids mess with guns?" Yang shushed me as her sister dodged, flipped, and used the shots as propulsion. The wolves were dropping deader than doornails, and she killed one with each shot.

She fired again and rolled backward, coming up and twirling her rifle, transforming it into the scythe. "Whoa!" Ruby spun and hooked a monster, which growled in her face. She smiled ( _smiled!)_ and pushed a button, cutting the beast apart with another shot, "It still shoots when it's like that?!" Yang was giggling now. I was completely stunned. All the dodging, twisting, and flinging herself about punctuated with kills was... It was insane. Well it was! If anyone is an authority on crazy, it's this guy.

When the video finished, Ruby stood in the middle of the field amid what must have been forty of the wolf monsters. They were all sort of disintegrating and wicking away on the wind. "Stars. And. Stones. Remnant sounds like a hellish place if kids _want_ to do that when they grow up." Yang slapped me on the back and grinned. "She's _fast_." The video ended with a man in the background said 'That's a pass! Congratulations Miss Rose!' while she and her friends cheered.

"Duh! That's her semblance," Yang said. I stopped staring at the screen to look up at her in confusion. "Semblance? Oh, right. It's a special ability that huntsmen and huntresses have. Ruby's is super speed, and mine is, hmm. Well let's just say I can take a beating and use that on whatever gave it to me." I goggled at her.

"Really? Your sister is Kid Flash?" I couldn't think of a comic book character for Yang. She giggled again. I mean, the look on my face must have been priceless.

"I don't know what that means, but yeah. She's _really_ fast, and she gets faster every day," Yang beamed. The smile faded from her face, and she looked down at her sister.

"Hey, Sparky," I patted her shoulder. "I'm sure she's gonna be okay. She's a fighter. We always pull through." I didn't know what else to say, but it seemed to do the trick. She smiled and nodded. I blew out a breath and shook my head to clear it. "Alright, fun's over. Now we get down to business." Yang got a determined look and saluted an aye-fur-mative.

* * *

Post editing notes: If the chapter seems to end abruptly, it's because it did. I really feel like the next part deserves it's own chapter. I will try to keep pace with the updates, but I may choose to write two chapters at a time going forward.


	4. Ch 3 - He Is Not Cute!

**AN – A crossover continuation of Dust and Motes, set in RWBY (all characters and places are owned by Rooster Teeth), and crossing into the Dresden-verse (all characters and places owned by Jim Butcher).**

I debated for a moment what to do next. It was Wednesday, and Thomas was out of town - White Court business. He wouldn't be back until Friday, which was when he usually came to get me. Since Molly was still busy learning her duties as Winter Lady, there weren't a whole lot of options. The sun was high enough that normal people (relatively speaking) should probably be up and around now.

"Yang, there's someone I need to invite, but he's a little shy around new people." She tilted her head and smiled a little. I stood and walked over to the stack of plastic tubs that held my foodstuffs. "I'm going to step outside for a minute and see if he's up to meeting you. It might take a few minutes, but if he agrees to it, can you keep from making any sudden moves?" I fished out the doughnut box I kept for emergencies and brought it back to the table. "He's not your average looking kind of guy."

"Sure thing, Harry, I can do that," she replied. She viewed the box with great interest, sniffing the air. I opened it and grabbed a glazed cake donut with sprinkles, then pushed the box toward her.

"They're a little stale, but I kinda like 'em crunchy, ya know?" Yang didn't have to be told twice. She picked one out and bit into it with gusto. Her face made a 'not bad' look and mumbled omgawdisishgud. I chuckled and walked over to the door. "Save me one or two, will ya?" I tossed over my shoulder on the way out. I got a muffled 'mm-hm!' in return.

I stepped through and closed the door behind me, then walked around the corner of the cottage. Spring had waned into summer, and beads of sweat formed on my face while I walked. It was going to be a hot one today. I leaned up against the shaded stones of the cottage and held up the doughnut. I gathered a small portion of my will and quietly called out, "Toot-toot, I need you when you have a moment." I drew three breaths and heard a popping noise as a blue light flashed a few feet in front of me.

"Sir Knight, my Lord of Za! How may I serve?" Toot piped. The little Fae bowed as his wings fluttered, holding him in the air just a bit below my head. Though I could hardly call him little, anymore. When I'd first met him, the dewdrop fairy was six inches if he was a foot. Over the years, he had grown, and was now nearly two feet tall. His shock of wild hair was a paler blue than it had been since I'd seen him last.

He wore a cuirass of silvery fae metal that had chain sleeves of the same material. The waist flared out into strips of hide with plates, and there were greaves on his shins, as well as bracers on his arms. A proper sword sat in a scabbard on his belt, and a pair of javelins were slung behind his hips. The armor had been a gift from me recently, to show my appreciation for his years of service. I'd paid the Svartalves a pretty penny for that, despite it's small size. Worth it. Toot has bailed my ass out of the fire more times than I could easily count now. He deserved every millimeter of that armor, and had accepted it with deep appreciation and great ceremony.

"Major General, it is good to see you," I said. "How fares the Guard?" Toot-toot did his best not to stare at the waiting treat.

"All is well, My Lord. We've kept watch over your friends and Mi- Murphy in your absence. There is no knavery to report." He looked up at me with firm intent. I pretended not to see the little bit of drool seep from the corner of his mouth. "The pizza flows, and the Guard is vigilant!"

"Excellent, Toot!" I held out the doughnut, which he accepted with gratitude. "Go ahead, I can explain while you eat." He wasted no time devouring the pastry. "I had an surprise guest drop in on me this morning. She's nice, but I've never seen anything quite like her before. She claims to hail from a place called Remnant." I went on explaining some of the details she'd given me about her home, and Toot made short work of his breakfast. He finished it with a hearty belch. "Does any of that sound familiar to you?"

The faerie scrunched his face and tipped his face skyward in an attempt to scour his memories. "No, My Lord, I've never heard of such a place. What's it supposed to be a remnant of?" He scratched his head.

"A good question, Major General. Would you care to ask her?" At that question, Toot frowned. "There's an extra doughnut in it for you, if she hasn't eaten them all," and that frown turned upside down.

"Lead the way, My Lord!" Toot's wings buzzed louder at the prospect of more sugary goodness. I turned and walked back to the door. When I opened it, Yang was still sitting at the table, munching away on a bear claw. She had grabbed my copy of The Hobbit, and looked up from it as I came inside.

"Yang, allow me to introduce my vassal, Major General Toot-toot Minimus, commanding the Za-Lord's Elite." I winked at her and stepped to the side. She closed the book and set it on the table, then stood up slowly as I moved. "He's agreed to meet you for the price of one pastry." Toot floated in and landed on the table and bowed with a flourish. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew to an unbelievable all-white teacup size. Seriously. It almost made me take a step back.

"A fairy?" she squeaked. Oh boy. "A fairy?" her voice went up an octave. Toot scrunched his shoulders and clapped his hands over his ears. It occurred to me that maybe I should have given her a better warning. Then it occurred to me that she knew about faeries, but like they weren't real. Interesting. She looked back and forth between me and my diminutive commander and a quiet ahhhhh noise came from her wide open mouth. Toot turned to look at me in consternation.

"I think she's broken, My Lord. Shall I try to fix her?" He was completely serious. I had no idea what he meant by 'fix', and something told me that I didn't want to know.

"Not just yet, Toot." I moved close enough to Yang to reach out and touch her shoulder. "Maybe you should sit down, huh? Sparky? Come on, don't go all to pieces on me." It didn't register. Oh man, the lights were on, but nobody was home. "Hey, you're gonna swallow a bug or something." I nudged her gently and she sank down. After a moment, Toot walked up to her, placed his hands on his hips and peered up into her face. Don't laugh, Dresden.

"Yes Miss Yang, I'm a faerie. Do you have my doughnut?" Straight to the point, this guy. Yang snapped out of whatever mind-bend she was having, giving her head a vigorous shake. She grabbed for the box without taking her now normal (ish) eyes off Toot. It took her a few tries. Mustn't. Laugh. Nope, nope, nope. All aboard the train to Nopeville. She finally managed to snag another bear claw and held it out to him.

"Of course, faeries are real. I mean, magic is real, so they must be too," she said. Toot accepted the snack and immediately began wolfing it down. "Oh. My. Gosh! He's so cute!" Uh oh. Toot paused for a moment and gave me a withering look. I twisted my hands out in a placating gesture and took my seat. He chose to ignore her comment and continued eating. Good thing junk food trumps wounded pride.

"Yeah, Sparky, faeries are real, though the Major General here kind of takes exception to being referred to as cute or adorable." She looked up at me, so I made with the serious face, but then I winked at her.

"Oh, right." She looked back to Toot. "I'm s- My apologies if I offended you," she looked up at me and I mouthed Major General at her. "Major General," she finished, placing her palms together and inclining her head. He paused between bites and returned the gesture.

"At least she has good manners, My Lord. Better than yours when we first met, at least." I did not stick my tongue out at him, no, sir. Such a thing would be too undignified for a wizard. It was a near thing, though.

Yang looked over at me, then a confused look crossed her face, "Wait. You called him your vassal, and he calls you 'My Lord'... Are you a faerie too?" Toot choked on his food and strangled down a laugh. She looked at him as if he were the most lovable thing ever. I couldn't help but snort a little.

"No, Sparky, I'm all human." I debated a moment on how much to say. "I got backed into a corner a few years ago. To get out of it, I assumed the role of the Winter Knight." She started to ask, and I shook my head. "Longer conversation for later if you're really interested. The short version is that I work for them." Toot had finished his pastry and was now looking at Yang. He took the break in my explanation to ask his own question.

"What is your world a remnant of, Miss Yang? Have you ever called it anything else?" Give credit where it was due, Toot took his duties seriously. She blinked at his query.

"Oh. Uh, hmm. I'm not really sure. I never gave that much thought." She held her hands up and shrugged. "Maybe Blake or Doctor Oobleck would know the answer. I've never heard it called anything but Remnant." Toot pondered that for a moment before turning to me.

"She does not know, My Lord. Shall I go find this Blake, or the Oobleck guy?" I could only shake my head. "Oh, I guess if she's lost, we can't find them to ask, can we?"

"Quite right, Toot-toot. And since neither of us knows where she came from..." I left the question dangling for him. Dewdrop faeries get underestimated by most people, but they're smarter than they get credit for. And they were hell on wheels if you gave them a little bit to work with. Toot clapped his hands and shouted back in a not-quite piping voice.

"We have to ask others if they know something!" Yang grinned and mouthed 'so cute'. "What are your orders, My Lord?"

"Well, since Thomas is out gallivanting for his sister for a few more days, we need a ride to town." I'd mulled over who to ask all morning. "Can you go see if Molly is free to come and get us? Oh, and be sure to mention we have a guest." Toot snapped a salute at me.

"It will be done at once, My Lord!" He flitted into the air and spun to face Yang, sketching a short bow at the waist. "ItwasapleasuretomeetyouMissYang!" tumbled out of his mouth as he sped toward the door. He disappeared through it with a little popping sound, accompanied by a shower of blue sparks.

"Wow." Yang said, and simply stared at the door. I let her soak it in for a minute. She picked up the bear claw she'd dropped onto the table and nibbled at it, lost in thought. I picked out the last jelly doughnut and took a bite. Yuh-mee.

"You alright, Yang?" I'm sure she was full of questions. "Penny for your thoughts." A shadow passed over her face at that. "Something wrong?" She shook her head.

"You're very impressive, Harry," Yang started, and then paused, as if thinking how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"Uh, thanks. I try." She smiled. I mean, what else is a guy supposed to say to that? 'You ain't seen nothin' yet'?

"You're a wizard, a prison warden, and you have interesting friends." I nodded. "If anyone can get me home, it's gotta be you, right? I mean, I don't want to be rude, but..." Ah, there it is. That question.

"It's alright, Sparky. You wouldn't be the first person to have doubts about me. Hell's bells, sometimes _I_ have doubts about me." I'd spent the last several months questioning every motive. The Mantle of the Winter Knight was a hard, feral influence. Most days I could handle it. "Go on, say what's on your mind."

"This Winter Knight thing, why?" Genuine concern showed in her face. "I can see you don't let it control you, but it's a huge fight. If it's so terrible, why take it on in the first place?" So she saw that. I blew out a slow breath and scuffed my thumbnail across the surface of the table. She waited patiently while I considered again how much to tell her.

"Bad guys," I started. "I don't know if I can properly describe how bad they were. They had my daughter, and they were going to kill her. They'd destroyed my office, my home, and my back was broken in the process." Even now, years later, the anger still burned. "The only choices I had were bad ones. I picked the least awful one." I barely noticed the room drop in temperature as I spoke. Yang didn't take her eyes off of me, and she covered my hand with hers. It was very warm, almost uncomfortable. "I made a deal."

"You got her back." It wasn't a question. I nodded my head. "Where is she now, with her mom?" there was an urgent tone in Yang's voice, and an expectant look on her face. The guilt and the shame weren't as bad as they used to be. I'd done the only thing I could, but it still hurt. I looked away, staring at the empty fireplace.

"No, her mother is gone. What I do, it's dangerous. Lots of enemies, most of whom wouldn't think twice about using a little girl to get at me. She lives with a trusted friend and his family, and they have _excellent_ bodyguards. My dog's with her, too, and he's no slouch."

"Do you get to see her much?" A happier note, on that front. I looked back at Yang and smiled.

"Oh yeah. I walk her to and from school most days, and we spend as much time as we can together when I'm not working." And lots of time at the park near Michael's house. Lots and _lots_ of time. Even Mouse pretends to be a little worn out some days.

"What's her name? How old is she? Is she going to be a wizard- wizardess?" I laughed and went over to my duster to get my wallet. I pulled a picture we'd had taken earlier that year. It was me kneeling down next to her and Mouse at the park. Wizardess, honestly. I could see Luccio laughing her butt off at that one.

"Her name is Maggie, and she'll be 11 soon." I handed the picture to Yang, who looked at it and made an Awh! noise. "I don't know if she'll be a wizard or not. I figure let her be a kid, have a normal childhood, ya know?" She certainly deserved one. "She knows some of what I do, but she hasn't asked about learning anything yet." I had mixed feelings about it.

"That sure is a big dog, Harry!" Her eyes were wide with amazement. I started to tell her how Mouse still thinks he's a little puppy. Toot-toot popped back into the cabin, causing Yang to jump a little.

"My Lord, Lady Molly says to tell you that she will be able to come for you later this afternoon if it isn't serious." I gave him a thumbs-up.

"That sounds fine, Toot. I think we're out of doughnuts, though." His face fell for the briefest of moments, but then he shrugged.

"It's okay, My Lord. Lacuna wants to fight me every time she finds out, anyway." I tilted my head and shook my finger at him. "I swear, it's not my fault!" he piped. "Somehow she always finds out!" Yang burst into gales of laughter.


	5. Ch 4 - Going to town

I sent Toot off to check with other Sidhe he knew might have heard of Remnant or anything like the creatures of Grimm. Yang had clarified the spelling, which I thought was _very_ interesting. I wasn't hopeful that Toot's contacts would turn up anything, but one never knew - Faerie was a big place. Yang and I whiled away the next few hours exchanging stories. She mostly told tales of happier times at her school, Beacon, with her friends before the fall of Vale. I was getting to know her team and their friends by proxy. Blake sounded like a complicated person, and I wasn't quite sure how to feel about Weiss. Team Juniper sounded like a huge barrel of monkeys, and they _all_ sounded like one great big wrecking crew.

She'd just finished telling me about the events of the Vytal Festival and the death of Penny. The light-bulb went on, and she explained how it had happened.

"That _bitch_!" I exclaimed. It skirted the third and fourth laws of magic, but I knew what the White Council would say. "No wonder you went after those two so hard." Yang's eyebrows went up at my bad language, but she explained that Penny was a robot. I goggled; these people were very advanced. Science fiction stuff, right there. If she hadn't been so upset through the telling, I might think she was yanking my chain.

"General Ironwood's team was able to put her back together, but the memories were gone. Ruby was heartbroken. She was Penny's first real friend, and they both tried, but it was never the same." She glowered at that. This Emerald Sustrai had a lot to answer for, as far as Yang was concerned. Maybe she had. The way I understood it, if her aura was depleted, and they were in the middle of some kind of explosion... Well, villains always get what's coming to them, eventually, right?

I was in the middle of telling her about a naked duel with a toad demon in the middle of the street outside my old apartment. Her laughter was genuine and hearty, and I couldn't help but feel an easing of tension as I laughed with her. It sure as hell wasn't funny at the time, but in hindsight it seemed ridiculous now. I was about to finish the story when I was interrupted.

WARDEN. A SHIP APPROACHES.

I paused mid-sentence and shifted gears. "Well, Yang, it looks like our ride is here." I queried Alfred to make sure it was Molly. I didn't doubt it, but we'd had unwelcome visitors before.

IT IS NOT GRASSHOPPER, WARDEN. IT IS THE VESSEL SHE HAS USED BEFORE.

Right. Well, being the Winter Lady was a big job, especially after Maeve's lack of attention. It didn't surprise me that she hadn't show up herself. I started moving around the cabin, grabbing clothes and the other wizardly tools I'd been working on when I came out here. The new and improved shield bracelet was done, so I fastened it to my wrist. I didn't need it like I had before I took on the Mantle, but it could be circumvented - had been - by clever opponents. I'd tried a different approach; one that I hoped would give me an even bigger advantage. There were other things I'd been working on, two rings and a chain went in the hockey bag along with the clothes. I talked to Yang while I packed.

"There are gonna have to be some ground rules, Yang." She replied with a simple 'okay'. "First thing, we're taking a boat that belongs to the Winter Queens, and there will probably be Sidhe on board. They're kind of like Toot, but less adorable and more people-sized." I ran through the list of do's and don'ts. Do be polite, do _not_ accept food or drink from them, and definitely absolutely do not bargain with them for anything at all. When she asked why, I explained a little more. "Sidhe are powerful beings from the Nevernever, and they just live to make bargains- most people don't come out on top." Gods above and below, didn't I know it. Yang seemed dubious.

"Not even for simple things, like directions? Toot-toot seemed willing enough."

" _Especially_ for simple stuff. Nothing is _ever_ simple with them. Toot is my vassal, and I bribe him liberally with pizza and doughnuts." I'd finished bagging stuff up and looked at her directly. "I mean it, Yang, no deals. I doubt they'd try it since you're with me, but better safe than sorry." I'd made a rather stern point at my 'birthday party' when Mab had shown me off as her new Knight. So long as I made it clear that Yang was under my protection, they'd toe the line. Probably. You could never be sure with the Winter Fae.

"Okay, Harry. It's your world - no deals with shee-uh. How will I know which ones they are?" Smart kid.

"As a rule, they're usually quite good looking - unearthly, you might say. I'd even go so far as to suggest alien, but, well you aren't from around here." I didn't plan on letting the girl out of my sight if I could help it, but what I have in mind and what actually happens doesn't always work out. "You and I are going to be two peas in a pod for the next stretch of while. I can point them out. Just, you know, don't stare. They live and breathe magic in a way that makes me look like a drooling idiot. Looking at them too hard can put you under their influence if you're not careful." She looked skeptical, but nodded and said she understood. I guess we'd find out.

"Next rule's probably common sense, but I'll mention it anyway: No starting fights."

"Aww, not even a little bickering?" she moaned. I shook my head and tried to keep the humor from my voice.

"I'm serious, Yang. If someone starts crap, that's one thing, but we want to avoid any unnecessary attention if we can help it." She faux-pouted, but nodded anyway.

"Oh, aallriight. No picking fights," she drawled.

"This leads to the last rule. If you do have to fight, try to hold back if you can. Most people here don't have an activated aura. As strong as you are, it probably wouldn't take much for you to seriously hurt or kill someone." She frowned at that.

"Are people on Earth usually so violent?"

"I won't lie to you. There are some pretty nasty folks out there, but most of the time people are just people." I didn't think now was a good time for the diversity talk, so keeping it simple seemed best. "Follow my lead and you'll be alright. I'd say you probably won't have to worry about most of it, but you're with me, so something's bound to happen." She ticked off her fingers and repeated the rules, then promised to do her best to follow them. Good enough for me.

I grabbed a walking stick I'd been carving from an oak branch I'd found and ran it through the loops of the bag. I draped my duster over that and grabbed my staff, motioning her to the cabin door. "Let's boogey, Sparky." She opened the door, and we walked out into the clearing. We followed the path down toward the Whatsup Dock - Yang didn't get the joke. We were about halfway down when I noticed that quite a few of the furry and feathered inhabitants were following us. I stopped to look around, and Yang stopped with me. Rabbits, squirrels, even a couple of skunks and a few different kinds of birds were around us. Some even close enough that we could reach out and touch them. They were all looking at Yang. That was new. And weird. And a little creepy. Beady eyes stared at us - at her from all directions.

"Aww, they're seeing us off!" she said. She crouched down and held her hand out to a flying squirrel. It hopped forward and chattered at her for a moment. She reached out and scritched it gently under the chin. "I'm sorry, little gal, but I don't have any food right now. I can try to bring some back, though. Would you like some nuts or something?" The squirrel nuzzled against her finger and barked a couple of times, then scampered off to do squirrel things. In fact, all of the critters hopped, crawled, and flew off to where they'd come from. Maybe she was like Injun Joe, but I didn't remember her saying anything about speaking with animals. A boat horn announced the ship's arrival. Put a pin in Doctor Doolittle for later. I beckoned with a wave of my staff, and we set out again.

We reached the shore a few minutes later. The same yacht Mab had used to pick me up earlier this year was docked and had a gangplank out. A tall man in a charcoal grey suit stood just in front of it. His features were long and his hair was dark, movie stars would envy him. Yep, one of Molly's retinue. I looked over at Yang and nodded over to him. "That, my dear, is a Sidhe." She looked, blinked, and then shrugged.

"Okay, what's the big deal? I mean, he's very pretty, but so what?" Hah. Take that, pretty boy!

"That's the spirit!" I could feel his glower from fifteen yards away without even looking. "It's probably a good idea to follow the rules anyway."

"Oh yeah, absolutely. Do you know if he gets offended like Toot-toot did?" I snickered. The Sidhe rolled his eyes.

"Probably." We clomped onto the dock and I nodded. He barely inclined his head. Everyone's a critic. "No Molly?"

"Sir Knight," he replied, biting off the t. "Lady Molly regrets to inform you that Winter business keeps her ashore in the city. We are to convey you and your," he paused, eyeing Yang up and down, "companion and provide you with transportation into the city, should you desire." It was clear he didn't like me or Yang, disdain plainly showing in his features. I drew on the Winter Mantle and spoke evenly.

"We do so desire. Your name?" at least he had the good sense to wipe that stupid look off his face. Somewhere in a giant reproduction of my old apartment were frozen bits of a mouthy Sidhe. Or not. For all I knew, Mab used them to flavor her drinks. Even if he hadn't been there to see, word got around.

"I am called Ahti, Sir Knight. Shall we go?" he beckoned up the gangplank loosely with one arm. I let Yang go ahead of me, and we boarded.

"You can be pretty spooky, when you want to, Harry," Yang muttered in a quiet voice. I shrugged and made a face. Spooky is as spooky does, I guess. A pair of too-perfect sailors retracted the walkway and we glided out to the open water. We moved forward to sit up by the prow in silence. I got the sense that was just dandy as far as the crew and Ahti were concerned. The sun was getting lower in the sky as we whispered through the water. When the Chicago skyline came into view, Yang stared in awe. I had to admit, I never got tired of seeing it myself.

"There are so many tall buildings!" she exclaimed. "Are they all communications towers?" She pulled out her scroll and fiddled with it. When she didn't find whatever she was looking for, she shrugged and put it away.

"I'm sure a lot of them have radio towers or satellite dishes, so in a way I guess they are, yeah." Yang seemed satisfied with the answer. It wasn't long before we got near the harbor. There were a number of boats out on the lake, being summer and all. Ours pulled up next to a dock and sailors began casting off lines and mooring. Ahti stood by the gangplank, waiting for us with a bored look. I guess the skyline isn't for everybody. Heathen. He waited just long enough for us to get close and then glided down the walkway and onto the dock.

We joined the Sidhe a moment later. He turned without a word and held up a set of keys, pointing to the far left side of the harbor's parking lot. I took them and looked in the direction he indicated. It wasn't hard to spot the blue hearse with the flame paint job. "The Lady will find you when she is able," he said, and then he blinked out of existence.

"Call me crazy, Harry, but I think he doesn't like you very much," Yang said.

"It must be my sparkling personality." We glanced sideways at one another and laughed for a moment. There were a few people nearby, but nobody really paid us any mind. We made our way through the docks and up into the parking lot. We got halfway to Dragula - yes, I just decided on the name, bite me - when a dozen men dressed in suits of varying quality stepped out from behind cars to block our path. That had to be some kind of record. I wasn't expected back, had been on solid ground less than five minutes and there were already goons waiting for me. Yang and I stopped a few yards short.

The man in the middle stepped forward. He was a little shorter than me, had dark hair peeking out from underneath a fedora, and wore expensive looking sunglasses. "Harry Dresden, you need to come with us," he said. Oh really? I need to, huh?

"Well gee, dress-for-less, I'm kind of busy right now. Office hours are eight to four. Since you know my name and I don't know who the hell you are, you can leave a message with my answering service like everyone else." His lip curled up in a silent snarl. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Mr. Marcone wants to see you, now. You will come with us, one way or another." As he was speaking, he gestured with both arms and they all started moving forward.

"Oh, well in that case, John can-" I started to say, when I heard a ratchety clanking to my right. I looked over and saw the monster bracers expanding to cover Yang's forearms. She stepped in front of me and put up her dukes. Marcone's goons faltered.

"You must not hear so good, Mister Dressforless. He said he was busy. Nice hat, by the way." Threads McNo-Name scowled.

I put my hand on Yang's shoulder and muttered, "Easy, Sparky." I drew on the Mantle, just in case.

"Who is this stupid girl, Dresden? She looks like a cartoon reject," he spat. "Kill her, and take him." Son of a bitch. Where was Hendricks? He would have had the sense to be more diplomatic. The idiot gestured more firmly, and the rest drew an assortment of knives and batons. Chatty Cathy unbuttoned his jacket and drew a pair of tonfas out from behind his back. I spotted the gleam of an automatic pistol in a shoulder holster as well.

I dropped the bag and leaned forward a bit. "Try not to break them too badly, eh?" I whispered. "You go right, I'll go left." She nodded and growled.


	6. Ch 5 - Ready! Set! Fight!

I've been in a lot of fights over the years. It never fails to surprise me the little things I've noticed. The birds were chirping in nearby trees. Distant shouts and laughter coming from the docks behind us were faint, their owners blissfully unaware of impending violence nearby. The hum of traffic from the highway droned, punctuated with the occasional horn beeping. Vibrant metropolitan sounds thrummed in the air. What I did not expect was Yang's fighting style.

She angled her left arm back behind her, pointing a bit to the side of me. The girl flexed her knee as if preparing to jump, and then she clenched her fist. Fire thundered out of her gauntlet making me shy away from it. It was worth noting that goons 'r us all jerked backward, too. Heh. When the blast went off, it was accompanied by a low thump and Yang took off like a shot. She lifted into the air a few feet and sailed toward the thug at the end of the line, swinging her left hand around to bear on the poor sap's face. He didn't have time to react, and there was a meaty clonk when fist met face. He dropped instantly, but she'd already moved on.

Yang's other gauntlet fired straight down, sending her up several feet. She twisted in the air in a kind of round off that sent her feet whipping into the next goon's shoulder hard enough to make him drop his baton and knock him into the two men standing next to him. I didn't get to see anything else, as the shock had worn off and I had my own opponents to focus on.

I raised my left hand and pointed at the ground between us and snarled, "Arctis!" causing a huge patch of ice to form across the asphalt. It spread out behind them, causing them to become unsteady as they strode forward. A couple of them slipped and fell, but I wasn't going to give them time to recover. I wouldn't be able to get them all, but I spread my fingers out, palm-down and shouted, "Forzare!" A wave of force flew from my hand and clipped three more at the ankles, sending them face first into the frozen parking lot. As I strode onto the ice, sure-footed, the remaining flunky wobbled toward me along with the mouthy hat man, who managed to walk carefully enough to keep his balance.

I heard a pair of blasts to my right in rapid succession, accompanied by heavy thuds and a cry, followed by what sounded like retching. I spared a glance long enough to see that two more of Yang's were down, one noisily emptying his guts onto the pavement. Yang herself was a glowing blur as she fought three on one. That was all the time I had, because generic thug led with a wild jab with his kukri. I batted it aside with a sweep of my staff contemptuously, then gripped the top of the staff and pivoted it in a wide arc that slammed into his shoulder. I heard a loud pop and his face went white, then he dropped with a gasp. The blade tumbled from his grasp and his good hand clutched at his dislocated shoulder.

The distraction was long enough that I didn't see the hit coming until after it had passed. It didn't even register as pain, but it did snap my head hard to the left. I whipped back around and I barely got my staff up to block the next shot coming in from McShades. He was pretty fast for a straight, and a little too steady on the ice. He rained down a flurry of blows with his sticks that I was able to keep up with. Our angle had shifted, and I could see that Yang was fighting at least five now. I didn't have time to spare concern for her. This guy was good. If I hadn't had the reflexes of the Mantle, I'd have been totally boned.

Nobody was prepared for Yang, though. She let out a high-pitched yell, and I vaguely recall seeing her fly fifteen feet in the air. When she came down, it was fist first. Thunder roared, and the next thing I knew thugs were flying everywhere, including one coming straight at his leader's back. He hit him; they flew into me, which felt what I'd imagine a freight train would be like. I was dazed for a minute, a high pitched ringing blaring in my ears. Then Yang was pulling people off of me. She was saying something, but it might as well have been a silent film. I tried to say something, and I'm sure it sounded like gibberish because the blonde crazyperson shrugged and jerked a thumb over her shoulder. I shambled to my feet and surveyed the damage.

The pavement had a small crater, presumably where she'd landed. Cracks radiated out from it, and all but two of the suits were sprawled around it. I didn't see any blood or guts anywhere. Looking back out at the lake, I could see people on the docks were shielding their eyes against the setting sun. Crap. Some had phones pressed to ears. Double crap. We needed to get gone, and fast. I definitely didn't want to be around when the cops showed up. The ringing in my ears faded to a distant whine, and sure enough there were sirens getting closer. I stumped over to my bag and snatched it up.

"Come on, Sparky McSplosion, we need to beat it before the fuzz hauls us in." She sidled up and quirked her lips in a sideways frown. Her gauntlet thingies shifted down into bracelet form with a quick shrug of her shoulders. Sooo creepy.

"Are you mad at me, Harry?" I kind of wanted to be, but it hardly seemed fair. I mean they _did_ jump us, after all, and nobody was dead. We skirted around the boys and made tracks for the car.

"I suppose not. You did good, Yang." She beamed. I threw another glance over my shoulder at the bystanders. They were far enough away that I shouldn't be worried about a positive ID, but the hearse would be pretty recognizable. We'd have to ditch it and call a cab, or else call someone with wheels. I opened up the driver side door and Yang, not knowing any better, got in and scooted across the seat to the passenger side. I tossed the bag in and slid my staff behind the seat. I got in, shut the door and started the car, which growled to life. I backed out, careful to avoid the now-stirring men. We drove away at a calm pace, and I checked the rear-view mirror every few seconds. Chicago's finest didn't put in an appearance.

"Who's Mister Marcone, Harry?" Yang asked in a subdued tone.

"John Marcone is the crime boss in these here parts. He's also cruisin for a bruisin, if those were actually his men." I somehow doubted it. People who made a mess with his name on it tended to vanish permanently. I for the life of me couldn't think of any reason for him to want the spectacle we left behind.

"They weren't very good fighters," she said. I snorted. "I mean, does he pay them well?"

"Beats me, Sparky. He usually gets his money's worth, though." I cruised into a parking garage and didn't need long to find an empty spot. Most of the commuters were leaving to go home to picket fences and nice, hot dinners. "We've gotta ditch this ride and call a cab or something." A wry grin spread across Yang's face.

"I suppose it _does_ stand out a bit, doesn't it?" I stuck out my lower lip and nodded.

"Like a sore thumb." I opened the door and dragged the bag out with me, pausing long enough to shrug into my duster. To hell with the summer heat. If someone came gunning for me, I wanted spell-reinforced leather between me and any potential incoming projectiles. The familiar weight settled over my shoulders, and I grabbed the bag and my staff. Yang had figured out how to open her own door. She stretched both arms in the air and wrinkled her nose when she took a deep breath.

"Whew! What's that smell?" I took a whiff. Having been on the island for several days, I got what she was asking about.

"Oh yeah, that's Chicago air. Lots of cars, plenty of exhaust. We don't have Dust here, so we use a different kind of fuel, and it doesn't exactly burn clean." She made an 'oh' face. "You get used to it." I pointed with my staff at the exit and walked toward it. Yang hop-shuffled to catch up and we walked out into the fading daylight. Yang stared up at the buildings and, I kid you not, pulled out her scroll and started taking pictures. "Tourist." She stuck her tongue out at me and grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, come on, Harry! Where am I gonna see buildings like this back home?"

"Point, I suppose." She turned and snapped a picture of me with a fiendish twinkle in her eye. "Hey now, I charge for that sort of thing!" I mock shouted. She giggled and put her scroll away.

"Really? How much?" she asked.

"Meh. A nickel. Works for Lucy."

"Sounds fair. Where are we going?" That was a good question. Pay phones weren't exactly growing on trees in this part of town. I thought there might be one over by Chinatown, but MacAnally's wasn't all that far away. My stomach rumbled at the thought of steak sandwiches, and it wasn't quite beer'o'clock, but what the heck. Mac would let me use his phone.

"I think maybe something to eat other than doughnuts is in order, don't you, Yang?" She nodded wholeheartedly.

"Oh yes, I'm starving. Nothing like a good fight to work up an appetite, right?"

"Damn skippy there isn't!" We trudged on while traffic whispered by. We got occasional looks from a few pedestrians, but most people were content to ignore us. Oddly enough, nobody stared, which was just as well. After what seemed like a sweltering eternity, we turned down the alley leading to Mac's and headed down the stairs.

When I opened the door, cool air and the smell of heaven washed over us. Stepping down into the room, I was glad to see that some things just don't change. Thirteen tables were scattered around the place, and as many columns carved with folklore stories and fairy tales held up the ceiling. There were ceiling fans whirring lazily overhead, providing relief from the day's heat outside. The crooked bar and it's thirteen bar stools were all empty, as were most of the tables. Two older men sat near the back playing chess. They glanced up for a moment, and though they didn't nod, there was a passing of recognition before they turned back to their game.

Mac stood behind the bar, methodically wiping down a glass. He nodded in my direction and said, "Dresden." Then he glanced over at Yang. "Miss." He hooked a thumb at the partially scorched sign, which read 'Accorded Neutral Territory'. Damn. I'd been hoping for some kind of reaction from the guy.

"Accorded Neutral Territory?" Yang asked. "Does that mean no fighting here?" She looked up at me, head tilted to the side.

"That's the idea, Sparky, or at least take it outside." I looked over at Mac. "I don't think she's a signatory, but you can expect good manners out of Yang, here." He nodded and said nothing. Yang bowed at the waist, which Mac returned. "It's hot and we're starved, Mac. Two sandwiches and beer for me, lemonade for her?" He gave me an 'Ungh,' and set out a beer, then poured a glass before turning to start our dinners. "Pick out a table, Yang." I fetched our drinks and joined her.

"Harry? I get the neutral territory thing, but what does accorded mean?" Yang asked. I set her drink down and pulled a chair out, taking a pull from mine while I sat down.

"Ahhh. Heaven," I said. "The Unseelie Accords are a set of rules governing behavior between the various supernatural nations."

"Oh, you mean like the Sidhe and... what else is there?" she replied.

"Give the girl a prize. There are lots of them, but the big names, let's see. Winter and Summer Courts, the White Court Vampires, the White Council, the Fomor. There are a handful of individual signatories, mystics, powerful entities-"

"Like John Marcone?" I glowered at that.

"Unfortunately, yeah." Don't ask, don't ask.

"How did he get in?" Dammit. I sighed.

"He had help to offer; we needed it and weren't going to get it anywhere else."

"Why?" I raked my fingers through my hair and took another pull from my bottle.

"You ever hear the saying, 'The devil you know is better than the one you don't'?" I asked.

"No, but I get what you're saying. He's a criminal, but he's got his uses, right?" Her face was unreadable.

"Don't get me wrong, Yang. I know exactly what he is. Ruthless, smart, and a villain, but he's also a man of his word. Now that he's a freeholding lord, he has a vested interest in protecting his territory, which happens to come under siege more often than any of us would like." Mac set two plates on the bar; I went and got them. Yang had leaned her chin onto a closed fist and looked lost in thought. That evaporated when I set her plate down. She took a bite and her eyes rolled up while her eyelids fluttered. I couldn't agree with her more, and set to.

We ate in companionable silence until it was all gone. Once we'd cleaned our plates, Yang dutifully stacked them and took her empty glass back to the bar. She said something indistinct, and Mac nodded, and then gave her a refill. When she came back, she turned the chair around and straddled it.

"What makes you think those men weren't who they said they were?" she asked.

"Doesn't track with what I've come to expect from John. He wants a sit-down, usually he asks in person or sends someone I know and they ask nicely." I mean, usually that's how it went. Since that business with Nick, I hadn't run afoul of Marcone's interests that I was aware of. I'd even helped the Brighter Future Society deal with the Fomor once since then; they were getting, well, bolder wasn't really the word. They were already without limits, but the incidents had piled up over the spring and summer.

"Is he someone we need to talk to?" she asked, ambiguously.

"Probably not worth the time. He isn't likely to know anything pertinent to your situation, and frankly, the less he knows about you, the happier I'll be." Yang was underage, but that didn't mean the weapons she carried wouldn't be of great interest to, Marcone, or anyone else, really. "We'll go ahead with what we're doing and avoid him unless absolutely necessary."

"Okay. Speaking of which, what _are_ we doing, exactly?" she asked.

"I need to make a couple of calls, then, depending on who answers, we'll get a ride to the next place. Be right back." I sauntered over to the bar. "Mac, can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure," he said. He reached under the bar and plunked a rotary phone on the bar. "Trouble?" I shook my head.

"Dunno yet. Ask me again tomorrow." He looked over at Yang, who had stood and moved to watch the chess match in progress. The oldsters didn't seem to mind, and she was being quiet about it. Mac snorted, as if he didn't believe me. I picked up the receiver and started dialing. 

* * *

**AN -** Just a few minor edits for polish. For those of you who don't follow me on Reddit, I wanted to apologize for the long wait, and to let you all know that I still have plenty to write for this story, but life may make that difficult in the coming months. I will try to update as often as I can, and I appreciate everyone's patience. Thanks for all the reviews and subs, too! The last two days I've watched my view count rise and it's really helped to cheer me up. You guys are awesome. :)


	7. Ch 6 - Chase the Tail

My first call gave me a machine, so I left a quick message and tried the next number. After three rings, a woman answered on the other end.

"Murphy," she said.

"Hey there, Karrin, I-" I started to answer. She cut me off partway through.

"Dres- Harry! You're back already? I thought you weren't going to be back until the weekend." I grinned and pretended that she wasn't gushing with excitement.

"Yeah, something came up. How's PT treating you?" Karrin was still coming back from the injuries Nicodemus had given her. She grumped and growled her way through a lot of it, but she'd traded in crutches for a cane that she probably wouldn't need for much longer. She made a raspberry sound.

"You know how it is. The nurse is a damned slave-driver, but I can manage a hobble. Next week we're going to shoot for a shuffle. So you're working a case, then?" I didn't want to get into specifics over the phone. Mac's place might be safe, but that didn't mean someone wasn't listening.

"Yeah, and I'll tell you all about the client if you're up for company, later tonight. I did have a question for you though."

"Oh?" she asked. "And yes, of course I'm up for company. Is your client riding along?" I braced myself for clobberin time.

"Yeah, she's kind of a special case. Not from around here, if you get my... You'll see." She gave me an uh-huh, like 'we'll just see about that'. Honestly, it was better than I was hoping for. Did I mention Murph's PT made her extra grumpy, or that she probably just finished it an hour or two ago? "Is there any hopping going on in the Baron's court? Some guys jumped us about two seconds after we hit the shore."

"Oh, Jesus, you too?" her tone exasperated. "There have been reports that someone has been hassling people, and it isn't the Fomor or their servitors. This is the first time I've heard about them dropping his name, though. Are you alright?"

"Oh sure, piece of cake, but we had to get a little uppity. CPD got called." I pointedly did not mention gunfire or explosions or property damage. Karrin might not be a cop anymore, but that sort of thing still got her worked up. It was cute, but this wasn't the best time for it.

"We?" she asked. I could practically see here eyelids squinting.

"Yeah, the client can handle herself in a fight, at least." Honestly I wished I'd seen more of it, but I'd been kind of busy.

"Uh-huh. Am I going to meet this mysterious warrior woman?" Uh oh. Danger Will Robinson, Danger! By meet, she actually meant not immediately dislike.

"I'm sure you two will get along fabulously. You can paint each other's toenails and talk about cute boys." She huffed out a laugh.

"Oh my God, Dresden, you're such a pig. What time will you be over?" I cast an eye up at the Felix the Cat clock and did some figuring.

"Maybe an hour and a half or so? We've got a couple of stops to make, questions to ask. Might not take that long."

"She'll be glad to have you back. We both will." I smiled in consternation.

"She still hasn't picked out a name?" My nascent spirit of intellect slash daughter was proving to be as stubborn as I was. I still hadn't found a place I liked yet, and while it was pleasant crashing at Karrin's place, we were both smart enough to realize we each needed our own space.

"No, but that hasn't stopped her from trying out a bunch since you left. I mean, I know it's important, but Bob Two Point Oh..." I guffawed at that. "I hope she picks one soon, or you figure out where your workspace is going to be." I _had_ been looking. It was next to impossible to be happy with anything compared to my basement apartment. Molly let me use her place whenever I wanted, but it was still her place. There were a couple of possibilities, but they had issues. I'd promised myself that I would give it another month before I settled on anything.

"She give you any lip while I was gone?" The spirit came from me, so she knew everything I knew up to the point of her 'birth'. Unfortunately that knowledge also came with my brand of smart-aleckery.

"No, actually she's been quite well-behaved, a perfect little lady. I mean, if you don't count the laundry list of names." She paused, listening to indistinct chatter on the other end. She covered the mouthpiece and said something. "She's excited that you're coming back early. See you at seven?"

"That's the plan, see you at seven." There was a pause at her end.

"Alright, Harry, be careful. Luck."

"Thanks, Karrin. See you soon." I hung up the phone and called a cab. After that I thanked Mac and slid the phone back over, then fished out a twenty and laid it down. He tilted his head and put it back under the bar, then picked up the money and went to make change. When I turned around, Yang had taken a seat with the two men and was avidly talking and pointing at the different pieces on the chessboard. They didn't seem to be terribly bothered by her poking her nose into their game. I contented myself to wait for the cab with my elbows hitched up on the bar behind me.

Five minutes later there was a distant honk. "Yang, that's us, let's go," I called out. She nodded to both men and said a word or two, then moved toward the door. She grabbed my bag and staff on the way, and scooted our chairs back under the table. We met at the door and she handed me my things.

"Thanks for the food, Harry." I nodded and held the door open for us. "So where are we off to next? More bad guys?" Man alive, she sounded eager.

"Nah, we'll see if a friend of mine got my message to meet up. If not, there's one other place I'd like to hit, then we'll head to Murphy's after."

The cab ride was quiet and we spent the time with me pointing out various landmarks and historic buildings. The cabbie, an oldster who retired from the CPD years ago, threw out a couple of stories about 'the good old days'. Stuff about bootlegger mobsters and G-men, the borders of the Great Chicago Fire, real touristy stuff. I doubt many locals know how to spot that one. Heck, I probably wouldn't have, had I not built my own Little Chicago years ago. Yang probably didn't have a clue about half of what we were saying, but she smiled and nodded, and even asked a pertinent question here and there.

We arrived at our destination soon enough, a two story building with flagstone steps, which were interspersed with hand rails and large bowls filled with summer plants and flowers. Flanking both ends of the stairs was a bronze lion. I'd heard that after Bob's romp they found it back where it belonged, though a bit singed in places. We got out and I handed the cabbie his fare, plus tip. He grinned and thanked me, then pulled back out into traffic.

"What is this place, Harry, a museum or something?" Yang asked.

"Sort of – it's the Art Institute of Chicago. They have older works, but there's a lot of contemporary stuff too."

"Oh, I see. Are we going inside?"

I shook my head. "They're only open after five on Thursdays. We'll wait here for a bit and see if my other half shows up." I really hoped he did.

"Your other half," she said, slyly. I chuckled at the thought.

"Not like that, Yang. I'm the Winter Knight, he's the Summer Knight."

"Right, I gotcha. Are there knights for all seasons?"

"No, just the two of us, thank the stars." Two courts were complicated enough. I shuddered at the thought of four. I spent a few minutes explaining what I understood of the faerie courts (which, who are we kidding, I was no expert). Yang listened patiently, if dubious about the whole thing. Can't say I blamed her. Once summed up, she switched gears and steered the conversation in a different direction.

"So I've got another question for ya. Can anybody learn magic? Is it easy?" Oh boy.

"Well, that depends. Magic is almost like any other skill when you come down to it. The main difference is that while everyone has the ability, training has to start early." How far do I explain all of this? Was she really interested, or just trying to distract herself? "If someone waits too long, the ability withers away. And there are laws in the magical community."

"Laws? You mean everyone knows about magic?"

"No, and I'll explain why in a minute." I ticked off a finger for each law. "Thou shalt not kill by use of magic. Thou shalt not transform others. Thou shalt not invade the mind of another." She started to say something at that one, but I stalled her with my other hand. "Thou shalt not enthrall another. Thou shalt not reach beyond the borders of life. Thou shalt not swim against the currents of time. And lastly, thou shalt not seek knowledge beyond the Outer Gates." Common sense, really. It always amazes me when people break one of those rules. "The soul gaze doesn't count, because it works both ways."

"Gotcha. Most of those make sense, but… What are the Outer Gates? Sounds creepy," she waggled her hands in the air.

"It _is_ creepy. The gates are the borders of reality. There are," I paused, trying to figure out how to explain it, "things – creatures that possess immense power and hatred for everything in our universe. We call them Outsiders, and they aren't something that we practitioners discuss openly. To answer your other question, most people in the world are oblivious to magic."

"Huh? Why?" She was circling around it, but I knew the question would come sooner or later. I liked her, but I wished she'd get around to asking it so I could say no.

"Well, mostly because we live in a world of science and technology. Magic is not something the average rational mind can acknowledge. But before that, we had a pretty dark time in our history when most people knew about, and were afraid of magic." I didn't think we had time for history 101, so I gave her the short-short version. "There's a reason we have the seven laws," I finished.

"What happens when someone breaks one of the laws?" she asked.

"The sentence is usually death." She breathed out a shocked 'whoa'. "The White Council tries each case individually, and there are exceptions to some of those rules, though they're far fewer than I care to admit." My thoughts darkened at my own brushes with Council 'justice'.

"It's that serious? I mean, what if someone has to defend themselves?" I nodded.

"That would be an exception, but how and what was done has bearing on the situation. Breaking other laws could have world-devastating – or destroying consequences. Sometimes people get on the wrong path and can be steered back to good, but others have been hell-bent on doing the wrong thing. I might not like it, but I can see the need for it. I just don't care much for how black and white the Council goes about it. There's plenty of grey area." Yang pondered this for a moment, and then squared her shoulders. Heeeere we go…

"Could you teach me magic?" I eased a breath out my nose and shook my head.

"Yang, magic is a deeply complex skill that takes years and years of dedication and practice. From what you've explained of your own training, it's similar, but with more breadth." And depth. And scary bad consequences if you screwed up. Her shoulders sagged a bit, but she nodded. "Besides, not that I don't enjoy your company, but I'm pretty sure we'll get you home in less time than that." I hoped. Come on, I can get lucky once in a while, right?

She was about to respond when a man's voice spoke from right behind me, "Dresden, you're letting your guard down. Tsk, tsk." The point was illustrated by something hard prodding the small of my back. Crap. I turned my head enough to see a shock of white-blonde hair and coppery burnt skin.

"Hey, Fix. Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

 **AN: Sorry it's been so long you guys! I've been retooling the timeline I had in mind for this initially and feel like it's better now, so I should be able to move forward with this. I can't promise that I'll be clockwork on the chapters, but I'll try my best. Thanks for waiting, and thanks for reading! :)**


	8. Interlude

**AN: Hey there! You guys are crazy? Over 1k visits in one day? That deserves something extra, methinks! A little interlude, perhaps? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! :) *minor edits*  
**

Aboard the AAF Striker -

James Ironwood was beset on all sides today, and had been since the Battle for Beacon. Between coordinating with Vale's huntsmen, attempting to root out the White Fang, and deal with the mounting presence of Grimm, he'd had little time to rest in the previous week. The matter was compounded by the fact that the city's own military was plagued with difficulties. The Council had all but demanded that he step in and take charge, which he had refused. He was happy to advise and assist, and had even offered specialists from his own corps to provide training and support, but the attitude of the general populace was already tense enough.

When the robotics technician delivered his report, it took everything for James not to lose his composure. He took a moment to remind himself that it wasn't the man's fault that everything had gone to hell.

"We don't understand what the problem could be, sir. Every time we try to initialize her core cognitive functions, it goes fine for a few minutes. She looks around for a moment and stares at her palms, then stops responding." James reviewed the data on the pad as the technician explained the situation with Penny. He understood some of the technical aspects, but the two people in front of him were the experts.

"What is this happening in her subroutines, Sergeant Carmine?" There were too many for him to follow, but he could guess.

"Ah, yes, you noticed that, did you sir?" The technician frowned. "It looks like they run in a recursive loop. It seems she's looking for some sort of input, though we still haven't been able to figure out what. We've tried a variety of things, but nothing's broken the loop yet."

The woman, a civilian, spoke up. "We've got the team combing through the data logs from the last month, but so far there haven't been any clues for us." James frowned.

"Coral, have you been able to reconstruct any of the video? There might be something there. If we can find any instances of her making that gestu—" he cut off in mid-sentence as he recalled something.

"Sir, what is it?" Coral asked. James held up his hand.

"I was just thinking, several weeks before the Vytal Tournament began, didn't Penny get into some kind of scuffle?"

The Tech Sergeant nodded, "Yes sir, there was an incident just before the first incursion of Grimm. Minor damage to her hands, easily repaired."

"Yes, General, but we don't have video from most of that day. Even the backups were corrupted. We have been trying to run recovery on them, but it's a slow process." James' frown deepened. He had been content to let Penny keep her 'secret', but if they had any hope of restoring her to full capability, that would have to be secondary. It wasn't to discredit the men and women under his command, but Penny was easily worth dozens of soldiers in terms of raw power. Her fighting capability was sorely needed, and resetting her to a blank slate wasn't going to give them that.

"Thank you both, that will be all. I may have something for you later, but assume I won't and keep working.

"Yes, General," they both said. Coral nodded and Carmine saluted before leaving his office. He leaned against the edge of his desk and rubbed his right shoulder. He glanced at his watch and grabbed his scroll. Glynda would be on this rotation, so he called her.

"James, I was just about to call you! You're about to get incoming wounded." She sounded rattled and angry. That wasn't like her.

"How many?" he asked. Losses had been minimal, but he knew it was bound to happen.

"Four dead, three injured, one seriously – it's Miss Rose." James held his breath. "She'll live, but she's going to be down for a while." He exhaled slowly. He might have doubts about Oz, but he believed it when he said she was important. "That's not the urgent reason for the call. Her sister brought her back long enough to make sure we sent her up to you, and then went tearing back into the city. I fear Miss Xiao Long isn't thinking clearly at the moment."

"You didn't stop her?" Glynda huffed a weak laugh. He knew what she meant. Yang Xiao Long was difficult to contain under the best of circumstances.

"She said something about their trail getting cold, and that if we wanted to stop her, we'd have to kill her." James' jaw dropped at that one. "I sent a four-man team to back her up, but if she's going after Mercury and Emerald…" she trailed off. "I know we're all spread thinly, but if you could send any more men, I think she might appreciate it." It was James' turn to snort.

"I sincerely doubt that, but I'll find a few men. How are the efforts to retake the school going?"

"I wish I had better news, James. It feels like every one we clear out, three more slither out from the shadows. We're doing what we can." She sounded as tired as he felt. She had probably slept less than he had.

"I know you are. What about the… other matter?"

"It's going about as well as we could expect. Some are having more trouble adjusting than others, though."

James was about to reply when the call came across the PA. "Medical transports inbound! Hospital staff to the hangar bay!"

"Glynda, we knew this wasn't going to be ideal under the best of circumstances. They're playing my song – I've got to go. Keep me posted. Be safe."

"You too, James." She ended the call.

James stood and straightened his jacket, then walked out of his office. On the way to the medical wing, he flagged the duty lieutenant long enough to see about sending a squad after Yang. He hoped that Ruby wasn't too badly hurt. He was certain her help would be necessary to restore Penny.


	9. Ch 7 - Culture Shock

This day just kept getting better and better. Fix had the drop on me, and I hadn't seen him since Demonreach. I couldn't be sure if he blamed me for what happened to Lily or not.

"You really suck at this, Dresden," he deadpanned. Yang looked at me with an eyebrow raised, her hands clenched into loose fists. I shook my head.

"Gosh, Fix, I hope you're not talking about my witty banter – I might get all offended." I craned my neck to look around at him. Fix hadn't changed much since our last meetup. He was still lean and muscular, but his hair had gone full platinum. "We talking or fighting?"

He shrugged a shoulder, "Could be fun, Winter. You wanna talk? Talk." The pressure lifted off my kidney and he held up two fingers pointed like a gun. He smirked and let his hand drop. I turned to face him at an angle and motioned Yang over. "Wow, Dresden, what is it with you and blondes? Who's the babe?"

"The _babe_ is standing right here, mister," Yang said flatly. I gave them both an annoyed look.

"Cool it, you two. Fix, this is Yang Xiao Long, Yang, this is Fix, Knight of Summer."

"Right. Nice to meet you, Yang Xiao Long." Fix held his hand out with a wry grin. "Sorry if I ruffled your feathers."

"No problem, Sir Knight," she replied. She took his hand and gave it a shake. As soon as they made contact, the smile slid off his face and he gave me an unreadable look. Oh yeah, I could see the wheels turning.

"Dresden, where did you find her?" He let go of her hand and looked back to her warily. The Summer Mantle must have recognized her power like I had. "Is this Winter business?"

"No, it's mine, actually, and I'd like to keep it that way. Do you recognize her?"

"Not specifically, no, but I know a powerful Wyldfae when I meet one. Where are you from, Yang?"

"Remnant, the Kingdom of Vale. Have you heard of it?" she looked hopeful. I wasn't going to hold my breath. Nothing ever works out that easy.

"I haven't, sorry to say." Yang deflated. "Look on the bright side, you've got Harry. If there's a king of beating the impossible, it's him." Thanks a lot, Fix. No pressure or anything.

"To answer your earlier question, she showed up on my doorstep, so to speak. Given where I was, that shouldn't be possible, but here she is. The fact that you think she's Wyldfae gives us a better direction to look in." Fix shrugged.

"What's a Wild fae?" Yang asked? "I mean, I'm human, right?" Fix and I both shook our heads.

"I don't think so, Sparky, at least, not by our definition. Wyldfae are unaligned Sidhe, owing loyalty to neither Winter nor Summer. I can't think of any other way you could have appeared on the island – even if that still shouldn't be possible." I looked over at Fix. "Aren't they all aware of the Courts, though?"

"Supposedly they are – that doesn't mean I know for sure, though." He shrugged.

"Any chance we could meet with Sarissa?"

"No. Honestly I shouldn't even be here, myself. Titania was angry with you before Lily… When she learned about what happened, she forbade the Summer Lady to have any direct contact with the Winter Knight." Crap. I could see why Titania did it, though. Summer Ladies had a nasty habit of dying around me.

"I guess I can't really blame her. Do you think you could ask around?" Fix shook his head.

"I don't know, Winter. I'm pushing it just by being here." He looked at Yang, debating. After a moment, I guess he decided it couldn't hurt to have more information. "Can you give me more details about Remnant?" Yang spent a few minutes telling him about her world, and I would add things that she left out. I was surprised to learn that there was a shattered moon and animal people called Faunus. In the end she fished out a short bandolier of what looked like shotgun shells and pulled one loose.

"Here, you can take one of my Dust shells if you think it will help." Damn, I don't know why I hadn't thought of that. Fix took it and bounced it in his palm a couple of times and started to put it into a pocket, then thought better of it.

"No promises, Dresden. I'll leave a message with your service if I can." I grunted and nodded. Fix turned toward the street, but I stopped him with a light touch on the shoulder.

"Hey, man. I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I was about how things went down." He didn't move, but he tensed up. "Mab made a nice place for them in the grove down the hill. If you want to come out some time…" I left it there, not sure what else to say. He muttered a quiet 'Thanks', then walked to his SUV, got in, and drove away.

"Harry?" Yang asked.

"Hmm?" I looked in her direction. There was a frown on her face.

"What did he mean about this Titania being angry with you? Who is she?" I held in a long-suffering sigh; I definitely didn't want to get into this right now.

"Titania is the Queen of Summer. She's been mad at me for a while now – long story. I tried to stop it, but couldn't. Fix is good people. If he learns anything, he'll find a way to let me know."

"What about your own Queen, couldn't she help?" I shuddered.

"Trust me, let's not go there – not even as a last resort." She was _so_ the last person I wanted to ask for help. "If we have to go to her, the world is probably coming to an end."

Yang scrunched up her face. "Is she really that bad, Harry?"

"Think of the most wicked person you can imagine, then multiply that times a billion. Then add immortality, cruelty and almost unlimited power." There was no really good way to describe Mab. "Her last knight betrayed her – she spent six years torturing him, waiting for me to take the job. When he died, he was relieved that it was over." I pointedly did not tell her that it was me who gave him that mercy.

"You sound afraid of her," Yang said.

"Of course I'm afraid of her. I'm sane. Ish." I couldn't say for sure any more.

"She sounds evil," Yang said, worry drawing lines in her face. "And she was the least awful choice you could make?"

"She's burdened with a terrible purpose, and will do anything to achieve victory. Given my other choices – and knowing what I know now – I stand by my decision. That doesn't mean I have to become her pet monster. We have an…" I paused for a moment. "We have an understanding. That doesn't stop her from pushing the boundaries, though."

Yang studied me carefully for a moment. "If we can't find any other way to get me home…" I sighed this time. "We'll do it your way, but I think I should have a say if it comes down to it." I nodded.

"I really hope it won't. There are plenty of options we can investigate. Even if you do decide to ask for her help, I can't promise that she'll do it, though. And even if she did, you might find the price too high." I know I did.

It was Yang's turn to sigh. "This is your life every day. Is it like Chicago air? Do you get used to it?" Christ. What a thing to ask. Then again, in her position I might consider it.

"No, but what's done is done." I cast a glance up at the sky. "We're burning daylight. Let's grab a cab and see if Butters is home."

"Okay, and who is he?" I told her. "You must be joking."

 _Elsewhere in the city_

He stared at his reflection, barely recognizable, but he had survived. His skin might be bone white, shot through with tendrils of red and black, but he could see the last vestiges of hit humanity here and there. Certainly it was more recognizable than this smelly world he found himself in. He never should have made that bargain.  
"Boss, we ran into trouble." He gripped his cane with claw-tipped fingers.

"Oh for f- How much trouble can one man be? Didn't you use the thing I gave you?" He turned to face his henchman, Styles? Styce? It made no difference to him. The humans in this world were all pathetic, sniveling imitations as far as he was concerned.

"We didn't get the chance," the man shook his head. "There was a freaky girl with him."

"Wait, freaky how? Describe her." Good help was impossible to find hereabouts.

"Blonde, skimpy outfit, and great big bracers that fired shotgun shells or something." The goon hesitated. "Actually, boss, now that I think about it, she kind of looked like you, but with bigger eyes."

 _'You have_ got _to be kidding me!'_ he thought. If she was here, then her teammates were bound to be somewhere nearby. That annoyance would complicate their plans.

"Ugh. Alright, alright, forget about the Wizard for now." He reached inside his jacket and withdrew card, which he held out to the man. "Go to this address. Follow the instructions you are given when you get there."

"But, boss, I thought _he_ was pretty insistent that we-" He flipped his cane and rapped the man's elbow. He gasped and clutched at it.

"Don't think, you idiot. Obey." He reached out and jabbed the card into the man's breast pocket. "You've got somewhere to be, so move it." The henchman nodded and left the room.

He turned to regard his reflection once more. The skin on the left side of his face had begun to harden into a plate. The eye encased within glowered a dull red. The right side remained unblemished, though bleached, and his other eye glowed green. Since the genesis, he felt whole for the first time in his life.

 **A/N: This is a shorter chapter, for which I apologize - I tried a longer version and it just didn't feel like good pacing. In the mean time, I'm looking for a beta reader. What I really need though, is someone who's knowledgeable about both universes and active in the community (aware of common theories and such).** **Side note, there will probably be spoilers involved, so I can understand if nobody wants to do it.**


	10. Ch 8 - I've Got A Bone to Pick

The ride to Waldo Butters' apartment was quiet. Yang was lost in thought and staring out the window. I was content to close my eyes and appreciate the silence. I must have dozed off, because Yang nudged my shoulder when we arrived. I paid the cabbie and we got out.

The brownstone apartment wasn't much to look at. We walked up the stairs and made our way up to the third floor. When we got to the door, I rapped on the wall next to it with my staff. A moment later, Andi answered.

"Harry!" She looked up at me, smiling. "How are y-"she cut off the question as she looked over at Yang.

"Hello." Yang said. When Andi didn't immediately respond, she leaned in next to me and muttered, "Is everyone I meet going to react like this?" I stifled a grin, glanced at her sideways and shrugged. She mock hung her head and then put on her best smile.

"Harry, she adorable; I didn't know you knew anyone who cosplayed!" I pinched the bridge of my nose. Kids these days, I swear. She reached out a hand toward Yang's hair. "May I?" Yang nodded and leaned forward to let Andi run her fingers through the mane of sunshine. She gasped. "That's not a wig! How did you get it to…?" She carefully let go and looked back to me. "Harrrrrry, is this a friend 'from out of town'?" she asked, using finger quotes. We'd set up the code phrase ages ago to help identify nonhumans. I mean, she was ruining the whole covert thing, but I'd given up on that after the third or fourth time.

"Yeah, and she got kind of lost. I promised her I'd try to get her back home."

"Oh? How much is kind of lost?" She drew up one corner of her mouth and raised her eyebrows.

"A lot. Do you mind if we not do this in the hall?" She stepped back and held the door open.

"You know the deal, Harry," she said evenly. I nodded and pulled a straight pin out from behind my duster collar, then pricked my finger with it. I held up the bead of blood for her to see and handed the pin to Yang. She quirked an eyebrow at me then muttered something about weird customs and did the same. I was surprised to see crimson.

Andi said nothing, but took another step back. Hell's bells, I hated this part. "Brace yourself, Yang." I stepped through the threshold and felt the unpleasant tingle wash over my body as most of my power – and the Mantle – were stripped away. I turned to look at Yang as she followed and immediately had to catch her as she stumbled. I silently cursed myself. I should have warned her better.

"Oh man, what was that?" Yang moaned. I slipped her arm over my shoulder and started to hobble to the couch. Being bent down like that seemed dumb, so I just scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way. She protested weakly until I sat her down on the couch.

"Sorry about that, Sparky. When people like us enter a home without an invite, we leave most of our strength at the door. Think of it like checking in your weapons. It'll pass." At least, I hoped it would. She barely had any color to her, and I don't mean she just looked pale. Even her clothes looked washed out.

"Oh," she said, simply. "But why? Aren't you guys friends?" I pondered how to answer her for a moment, and then Andi saved me the embarrassment of having to explain.

"It's a crazy time right now. It's not war, exactly, but dangerous things are happening. We've had friends turn on us." I winced at that. Bless Andi, she was a forgiving soul, but I'd earned that dig just a little bit. Hell, that probably wasn't even how she meant it. That didn't stop me from feeling guilty. I used to have an invite, but someone from the ParaNet named Rosenberg had come up with a ritual to fix that. "It's the only way to make sure we all stay safe. Are you feeling okay?"

"Ugh. I feel like I've been fighting Grimm all day. Can I have some water, please?" Andi nodded and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Yang took it and sipped at it. "Thank you. I'm Yang, by the way."

"I'm Andi; it's nice to meet you, Yang." She turned to me. "Harry, your manners haven't improved." To which I gave her a short raspberry.

"Hey now, I totally knocked like a grown-up this time, didn't I?" She chuckled and pushed me down onto the couch next to Yang.

"I suppose there is that. Wait here, I'll go get Bob." I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd managed to convince Butters that taking Bob with him on missions was a very risky thing to do. He had agreed to allow me to consult with Bob occasionally. In return I'd agreed to the disinvite. Andi reappeared with the skull and set him on the coffee table in front of me. Orange lights hung in the sockets and flared for a moment.

"Hey, Harry! What brings you to Casa de Butters?" Yang's jaw dropped open.

"It's a talking skull?" she squeaked.

"Oh wow, Harry! Hubba, hubba! Wait, does Murphy know you have a hot sidekick? She's going to hit you with one of her crutches if not." Andi snickered and went to the kitchen.

"Bob," I said evenly, "we're on the clock. Have you ever heard of a place in the Nevernever called Remnant? Shattered moon, monsters called Grimm? We're trying to get Yang home."

"Oh suuure, gloss over the juicy details and go straight to work? You disappo-"

"Bob," I chided him. Motor mouth and gutter thoughts were ten times worse than when I had him. Butters let him watch anything he wanted to.

"Fine, fine, see if I don't catch you up on your pop culture references. Yeah, I know about Remnant." Yang sat bolt upright when she heard this.

"Really?" She sounded just as surprised as I felt. "Do you know how to get there?"

"Hold on there, hot stuff. I can tell you all kinds of stuff, but I want something in return." Oh brother, here we go.

"Oh, um… Harry? Is this one of those deals I shouldn't be making?" I snorted. So did Andi, who returned with a sandwich on a plate.

"That only applies to Sidhe, but you're smart to ask. Bob will probably ask you to flash him or something." Her eyebrows tried to disappear into her hairline.

"Hey, I will not! I mean, unless that's on the table." Yang's eyes squinted at the skull and started to say something. She thought better of it, and took a bite of her food instead.

"Come on, Bob," Andi said. "I'll get you the latest season of Game of Thrones if you help her out."

"Woo hoo!" Bob gaped and rattled on the table. "Deal! Remnant is one of the realms deep in the Dreamlands."

"Oh. Well crap. How far out is it?" Yang made one of her cute huh noises.

"Does that mean it's too far away?" Yang's face had grown somber. Bob giggled a little bit.

"Not helping, Doctor Giggles. It means that getting there is going to be a challenge. How far, Bob?"

"Pretty far, and there's an added bonus. Time is accelerated in Remnant." Dammit. This was just getting better by the minute. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. We were damned lucky Bob _had_ heard of it. Yay.

"What sort of slippage are we looking at?" I hung my head and scrunched up my eyes, hoping it wasn't going to be too bad.

"In hours? Eight to one, which isn't bad. I know of one that's ten to three in days. That's not your main problem though…" Bob trailed off, knowing I wasn't going to like the answer. The differential wasn't bad, but I could pretty much guess what he was going to say next. I asked anyway.

"How old is it? Are we talking more than a thousand?"

"From an Earthly perspective, it's just over twelve hundred years."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Bob, that's almost four thousand years old!" I ran my hand over my face and smeared it around. This was _not_ good at all. How the hell was I going to get us both that far out? How was I going to get back?

"Harry, I don't understand," Yang said. "What does age and this time slippy stuff have to do with anything? What are dreamlands? Does this mean you won't be able to get me home?" There were tears welling in her eyes, and suddenly I felt very tired.

"Let me start with the Dreamlands. They're a region of the Nevernever – the spirit world, if you will – that have a countless number of self-contained worlds. The older they get the farther out they drift. The time differential works like this: For every hour that passes here on Earth, eight hours go by on Remnant." I looked over at the clock, which read seven. "You showed up here about fifteen hours ago, so that's right around five days of Remnant time."

Screwed wasn't exactly the term I wanted to use, but it was pretty close. Yang's face grew more crestfallen with every word. By the time I was done, she'd hung her head and absently swiped a tear away with the back of her hand. Andi had moved to sit next to her, and was doing her best to comfort the poor kid. She glared at me and tilted her head toward Yang, then mouthed 'say something'.

"It's not impossible, Yang," I gently patted her on the knee for emphasis. "It's just going to be super hard." She didn't look at me, but she nodded and fidgeted with the sandwich. I looked back over at Bob. "I don't suppose there are any connections here, are there?" Bob made a tongue clucking sound.

"Oh man, Harry, you're out of luck there. More importantly, you're a dolt." Yang snickered. I mock scowled and poked my tongue out the corner of my mouth.

"Gee, thanks Bob. Why am I a dolt?" Do not smash the skull, do not smash the skull…

"For _so_ many reasons, but in this case it's because you're overlooking the obvious." I pressed my lips together and strangled the urge to yell and swear. "How'd she get here in the first place? Where'd she show up?"

"Demonreach," I answered. Bob let out a low whistle.

"Wow. I mean, how does _that_ even happen? She shouldn't have been able to do that at all." Bob knew about the nature of the island in a way I couldn't understand, so that just confirmed what I'd said before.

"I was in a fight, and there was a big explosion," Yang said, looking down at Bob. The fingers of her left hand were clenched on her thigh. "The next thing I know, I'm wandering around in a tunnel and Harry showed up."

"Well that's no help at all. No explosion is going to get you onto that island; I don't care how big it is." Bob turned to look at me. "Harry, you should know what that means." He was kidding me, right? I flipped my palms up. "Geez, Harry. Someone or something put her there. That's literally the only way it could happen." Okay, yeah. Once I stopped to think about it, that seemed like the most plausible explanation. I felt kind of dumb for not realizing it before. Alright, fine, I felt a lot dumb. "Have you had any visitors, or anything weird happen lately?" I shook my head.

"No, man, nothing like that. Not before Yang dropped in, anyway." The wheels started turning in my head though. The original Merlin had created that place in multiple dimensions and times all at once. I didn't even begin to grasp how that was supposed to work, but I got one thing.

"Who or whatever did that has a _lot_ of mojo. I mean, that isn't a short list, but I could try asking around, I suppose. Any ideas?"

"Not a clue, Harry, but you could try talking to Ulsharavas. The Loa spend a lot of time out there – maybe she knows something or can find out." Oh man. There was a blast from the past.

"Assuming she doesn't want to play rough, you mean. Her summoning is in Dumont's Guide to Divination, right?"

"Yup! That's all I've got for you, Harry." Bob rattled around to look at Yang again. "Don't worry toots," Andi made a disgusted noise and rolled her eyes. "Harry might be a big dummy, but he's a very lucky dummy. He'll figure it out."

"Thank you, Bob the Skull," she leaned forward and started to pat it, but I nudged her hand away and shook my head. "I appreciate your help, sir." Bob guffawed hard at that, and I snorted. Andi shook her head and wheezed out a laugh.

"No problem, doll!" Andi picked up the skull and walked it back to the next room, quietly chiding him about sexist language, to which he vehemently protested. Yang stared at me for a moment before popping the last bite into her mouth.

"You have the most bizarre world here, Harry. Are we any better off, now?" she asked.

"Well, like I said, it's not impossible, but it's going to be a hell of a thing, Sparky." She nodded once and stood up to stretch. Andi came back out, shaking her head. In all the flurry, I'd completely forgotten to ask about Butters.

"So is Waldo out on a mission or something?" She shook her head and smiled.

"He's at Saint Mary's training with Michael tonight. He won't be back until later. Did you need a ride or anything?"

"Yeah, do you think you could drop us by Murphy's place?" Please let Karrin be in good spirits. I didn't want to get beat up.

"Sure, Harry, let me grab my keys."

 **A/N - Sorry this took so long to get out. I took time last week to sort out AU events in Remnant and work on some worldbuilding (story is canon up to v3e10). I'm also curious about peoples' opinion on the Dreamlands thing - feedback would be welcome and appreciated. Also, this is the longest piece of fiction I've ever written. I fully expect there to be some stumbles and stalls while I juggle this with my work schedule, but I'll try my best to keep it to a minimum. Thanks for sticking with it! :)  
**

 **A/N - Sorry this took so long to get out. I took time last week to sort out AU events in Remnant and work on some worldbuilding (story is canon up to v3e10). I'm also curious about peoples' opinion on the Dreamlands thing - feedback would be welcome and appreciated.**


	11. Ch 9 - Aura You Serious?

The ride to Murphy's house was filled with Yang telling us more stories about her time at Beacon Academy. We were all cackling at Jaune Arc's cross-dressing when Andi pulled up to the curb in front of Karrin's house.

"Well, Yang, it was lovely to meet you," Andi said. "I'm sure Harry will find a way to get you back home soon."

Yang shook Andi's hand, "The pleasure was mine, Andi. I hope we get to meet again before that happens." She got out and stood on the edge of the lawn. Andi turned to look back at me.

"Harry, take good care of her, okay? And don't wait for a crisis to come visit next time." I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Done and done. I promise, the next time I'll be potential-apocalypse-free. Tell Waldo I said hey, and thanks again for everything." She reached up to squeeze my hand and smiled at me.

"I hope so, Harry. Tell Karrin I said hello."

"Will do – drive safe." I grabbed my duffel and staff, and then got out to stand next to Yang, who waved back at Andi as the car pulled away.

"I like her, Harry. Is she a wizard?" I shook my head.

"Not exactly; she has this one thing she can do, but it's not quite the same as what we wizards do." We started walking up to the house.

"Could you do it?" I'd never really thought about it.

"I suppose I could turn myself into a wolf, but I never saw the need." I mean, it's neat and all, but wolves can't shout spells or handle a blasting rod, so it would kind of limit me. Plus, wolves work better in a pack, as the Alphas had demonstrated to great effect in the past.

"Oh," Yang said, nonplussed. She must be getting used to the weird. Someone give me a shot of whatever she'd taken.

"Besides, knowing me, I'd probably start chasing cars or squirrels or something. Very un-wizard-like behavior, that." Yang snorted and we made our way onto the porch. I rang the doorbell and waited patiently. It took Karrin less than a minute to come to the door. I pretended not to notice when she enthusiastically hugged me. I dropped my bag and returned the hug. If she weren't five-nothing, her cane and my staff would have made it awkward.

"Hi," I murmured into her hair, which smelled of white gardenia.

"Hi, yourself," she replied, huskily.

"Aww, that's so cute!" Yang said. Karrin didn't let go, but she did tip her head back just enough to look around at Yang. She didn't say anything for several heartbeats. No, I did not hold my breath. Shut up, I did not!

"So this is the girl who made a giant pot hole in the marina parking lot." Oops.

"Guilty as charged," Yang shrugged. "I'm Yang; nice to meet you, Karrin Murphy!" Murphy gave me the stink eye.

"Hey, that parking lot had it coming, Murph. It had a whole gaggle of thugs standing on it." She arched an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth cinched up. She wasn't buying it. "Is there an APB out on us?"

"Nobody got a good enough look, and your welcoming party all managed to run off before the boys showed up." She let go and turned and gave Yang her best stern cop face. "I appreciate you watching Harry's back, Yang, but big explosions are frowned on here. I expect you to show more discretion if there's more fighting, young lady." She eased up a bit and held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, too." Yang took her hand and nodded, but there was a twinkle of mischief in her eye. Ye gods and little fishes, here we go.

"I understand, Miss Murphy. I'll try my best to show crater restraint next time." I couldn't help but snort a little air out of my nose. Murphy gave me a withering look.

"My god, Dresden, she's a cute blonde version of _you_. Don't you start in, too. I don't think the universe could handle it." Oh hell no, I wasn't about to let that one go.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm hol-ey uninterested in denting pavement." Murphy groaned and looked skyward.

"This coming from the man who made a career out of destroying buildings?" Yang laughed and pointed a finger at me.

"Oh man, Harry, she's really _blown_ your cover!" I raised my hands in mock surrender.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, there are _two_ of them!" she moaned to the sky. "Come inside, before one of you gets struck by lightning." Murphy started for the door when Yang piped down to a more serious tone.

"Oh, just like that?" She probably hadn't been looking forward to being depowered again, but had said nothing.

"Yeah, just like that. I may be paranoid, but I trust Harry completely. If he says you're good, that's enough for me. **But**. Don't let the cane fool you – any funny business and your ass will be in a sling." We went inside and I smelled something divine. I put my staff in the umbrella tin and hung my bag and coat by the door. Yang sidled up to me and leaned in.

"I like her," she whispered conspiratorially, "she's feisty." I grinned ear to ear. It was one of the many things I loved about Karrin, who had made her way back to the kitchen. "How did she get hurt?"

"She tangled with a really nasty bad guy and didn't come out on top." I glowered for a moment. Nicodemus was right at the top of my shit list, but I wasn't any closer to figuring out where he was or what he was doing. I knew he'd pop back up like a bad rash sooner or later, though. "She was lucky; it could have been much worse."

"Oh," Yang mused. "How long has she been down?"

"It's been several months. Why do you ask?" I got the sense that she was going somewhere with this.

"I might be able to help her with that," she said quietly. Really? I faced her squarely and leaned forward a bit.

"What do you mean, Yang?" I asked. Karrin had gotten a really raw deal. I never said anything about it, but I hated to watch her struggle with her recovery. If Yang was saying she could make it easier for Karrin, I was very interested.

"Well, normally I probably wouldn't be able to, but she's got a really strong soul – I felt it when we shook hands. I could try unlocking her aura." Seriously? Was that even possible? I mean, I always knew Karrin was special, and that wasn't just boyfriend bias. Yang took in my look of disbelief and elaborated. "Like I said, _normally_ I wouldn't be able to. That sort of thing is for more adept aura users, but hers is really close to manifesting. I'm pretty sure I can do it." Points to her, there was a lot of confidence in that statement.

"I don't know, Yang…" I trailed off. Part of me wanted to give Karrin whatever help she could get, but another part of me felt like it was a shortcut. "Is there any risk if it doesn't work?" She shook her head at that.

"No way – if it doesn't, nothing really happens except I get tired for a bit. If it does, she'd get better in a day or two, maybe three tops. I'm willing to try if she is." She gripped my shoulder. "It's the least I could do in return for all your help, right?" Bless her; she just wanted to give something back. Her heart was in the right place, at least. I reached up and patted her hand.

"I tell you what, Sparky, it's up to her. She might be game, but a word of advice?" She nodded. "Maybe don't lead with that. She's tough as nails, but she's been through a lot." And proud. And _damned_ stubborn – stars and stones, was she obstinate. Yang nodded.

"I figured. What would you suggest, then?" I thought about it for a second. Knowing Murphy like I did, it seemed best to illustrate what Yang's people were all about.

"Tell her about Hunters. What they do, how they- you train. What it means to be a Huntress, that sort of thing. I can bridge the gap." Murphy interrupted from the kitchen.

"Soup's on - come and get it, you two!" I winked at Yang, who closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose.

"It smells really good," she called as she made her way down the hall. "What kind of soup is it?" I followed behind, chuckling. From the aroma, I doubted it was soup. Murphy had taken up cooking as a hobby to pass the time between physical therapy sessions. Sometimes it was a disaster, but she was getting better at it. I once teased her about it and got a snarky 'can't eat pizza and beer the rest of my life like you' in return.

The table in the kitchen was set with salad, green beans, and the most awesome meat loaf I've ever had in my life _ever_.

"Oh boy, Yang – prepare yourself for the greatest dish you'll ever have. Everything else will pale in comparison." Murphy smiled and spread her hands, then eased down into her chair.

"It smells amazing. Thank you for going to all the trouble!" Yang slid off her bracers and placed them on the nearby counter. She sat down and waited for Karrin to serve herself, and then started making up her own plate.

"It's no trouble at all, really." I took my seat and got my food. "I've come to realize that I rather enjoy cooking, and while it isn't as exciting as solving cases and saving the day, it is rather satisfying." We ate and made small talk. Yang enjoyed the food as much as I did, judging by the look on her face, which I barely noticed. After Yang and I had started our second helping, Murphy changed to serious mode.

"Which one of you is going to sell me on this miracle cure?" She looked like the cat that got into the cream. Yang barely managed not to drop her jaw on the floor and I hid my own surprise by stuffing a bite in my mouth. Subtle, right? "Please. You two have the worst poker faces, and this is a small house." She quirked one of her eyebrows and stared at Yang.

"I'm sorry, if I'm out of line…." Yang trailed off and looked down at her plate, pushing green beans around with her fork.

"I get it, you're trying to help. I learned a long time ago that sometimes it's okay to let people do that for you." Karrin eyes sidled over to me pointedly. "I didn't catch all of it, so let's have it." Yang looked up, eyes wide, but smiling.

"Are you sure? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Karrin put on a wry grin and curled her fingers in a give-it-to-me gesture. Oh look, there's still meatloaf on my plate! "I'll listen, but no promises."

Yang spent the next several minutes explaining how Aura worked. Many people who chose the path of the Hunter had their souls activate spontaneously. Having it unlocked by others wasn't the norm, but it happened often enough that it was common knowledge.

"It seems like cheating," Murphy said. "Then again, it sounds like your people need every advantage they can get." Yang spread both hands in front of her.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it's an instant fix. Manipulating Aura is hard work. Minor stuff, cuts and bruises – that's easy. Serious stuff takes focus and energy. It's work and _lots_ of food." She laughed and shook her head. "My sister, Ruby, eats her weight in cookies and fruit when she's had a busy day."

"So it acts as a passive shield and accelerates healing," Murphy said. "What else can it do?" Yang explained how Aura interacted with their tools and weapons, though she expressed some doubt about how well that would work without dust-based technology. I cleared up the confusion on that score.

"They have elemental forces in crystalline form. I've gotta admit, when we get her back home, I'd be mighty interested to get my hands on some." I mean, who knew if I could even do anything with it? I was curious – hopefully I wouldn't be doing a cat impression or anything. "I think the only other thing you haven't talked about yet is Semblance, right?" I still wasn't super clear on that part.

"Right. Semblance is an ability that is only used actively, usually as an attack."

"Usually?" Murphy asked.

"Yeah, and it's unique for each person. I mean, there's some replication, but it could be anything. There are thousands of different kinds." Yang went on to explain the ones her teammates had, pointing out creative uses of more motive or defensive expressions. "There's no way to know what it would be for you, and it would take a lot of training to figure it out."

"It shouldn't be possible to hurt someone on accident then?" Yang shook her head. "So how does it work, you poke around in my head or something?"

"Huh? No way! Why would anyone need to do that? I just extend my Aura out to your soul and try to wake it up. Kinda like jump-starting a car." Yang shrugged a shoulder and scratched her nose. Karrin got a sly look – usually her poker face was better than mine. This was going to be good.

"No chance of a Yang-over, then, right?" What? It caught me by surprise, and I giggled in a high-pitched voice. Yang and Karrin both jumped, and burst into hearty laughter a moment later.


	12. Ch 10 - Wake Up, Lights Out!

Yang and Murphy spent some time talking back and forth about what sort of training was involved in developing Aura. It sounded an awful lot like what I did for ritual preparation. I spent most of the conversation just listening as I cleared the dishes and washed them up. Yang offered one final surprising bit of information as I sat back down.

"Then, of course, there's the aging factor. It's super rare because being a Hunter is so dangerous, but I once heard of a retired Huntsman in Vacuo who lived to be almost two hundred." Murphy and I shared a significant look. That had been the one thing that bothered her most about us being together – the fact that I was probably going to outlive her by a lot. "I mean, it might not work that way here. I don't really know…"

"Actually, it might. Wizards live hundreds of years."

"Oh, so you're like, what, a hundred and fifty?" Murphy smothered her face with one hand.

"No, I'm thirty-nine!" it came out more defensive than I'd meant to, but only a little.

"So still an old man then, got it." This time I did stick out my tongue. I glanced at the clock and was surprised that it read almost ten. We'd been at this for two hours.

"Look, I'm sure you two want to talk it over." Yang began. I gave her a ghost of a smile – she was a smart kid, and thoughtful, if eager. "My people don't take this decision lightly, and neither should you. Is there somewhere I can clean up?" Murphy moved to grab her cane, but I patted her hand.

"I can show her if you want to think about it for a minute." She nodded her thanks and leaned back. I stood up and started toward the hallway.

"Thank you for dinner, Miss Murphy, it was really good." Karrin smiled and tilted her head to the left.

"It's my pleasure, Yang, but just call me Murphy. I haven't been Miss anything in ages." Yang bobbed her head and followed me to the bathroom. I fished out a couple of towels and my spare robe from the linen closet.

"Soooo," Yang began as I flipped on the bathroom light. "No pressure or anything. If she doesn't want to do it, I completely understand." I nodded and showed her how the shower worked. "Do you think she'll go for it?" She stooped to work the buckles on her boots.

"Too soon to tell, Sparky. We'll probably be staying here tonight. I'll find you something for pajamas in a bit." I pulled the door closed as she gave me a thumbs-up. I stood in front of the closed door for a moment, then headed back to the kitchen. On my way, I heard scratching at the front door, and stopped long enough to open it. Mister barreled into my shin, knocking me back a step. I reached down to give his ruff a good scratching. He purred happily and smeared his face across my hand a few times before wandering off to the kitchen, and I followed him. Murphy had rested her chin in the palm of one hand, absently rubbing her knee with the other. She flicked her eyes up at me as I walked back in. She didn't say anything until I sat down across from her.

"Well, she seems… nice." Karrin was struggling with a place to start.

"Crazy, right?" Genius, you are not, Dresden.

"Yeah, you could say that. Spill it." I spent the next few minutes explaining the events of the day. When I told her Bob's hypothesis about how she got to the island in the first place, she scoffed.

"Someone or some _thing_ powerful just picks up a teenage supergirl and tosses her onto, excuse me, into your island? Yeah, that has bad news written all over it. I'd bet the farm that your welcoming crew and the other disturbances are related." I started to speak, but Karrin bounced her hand in the air a couple of times. "I'm not saying she has anything to do with it, but you and I both know there's rarely such a thing as coincidence." I couldn't argue with that.

"Yeah, I figured it might be. They definitely weren't expecting her, though. You said there were other incidents?" She shook her head.

"I don't have much to go on, just what I hear from Rawlins. Toughs getting into street brawls, muggings with strange M.O.'s, that sort of thing. No mention of Marcone until you called earlier. Whoever they are, they're new in town and pretty good at getting away before CPD shows up." She was dancing around the elephant in the room pretty well. We weren't going to get anywhere talking about well-dressed mooks.

"What do you think about Yang's offer?" I wasn't about to push her into anything, but I didn't think it was unfair to at least talk about it. Karrin gave me a rueful look.

"Is it that obvious I'm skating around it?" I bit my tongue against a gimp on ice retort and settled for arching an eyebrow. Mr. Restraint, that's me. "I don't know, to be honest. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was a bunch of mumbo jumbo." She said that last with a hint of bitterness. I knew it was killing her to be benched for this long. Sure, she put in plenty of time at the Brighter Future Society, but it wasn't the same as being out in it. "But even if it's true, how do we know it's part of some elaborate scheme?" She let the question hang there, expecting me to respond.

"I soulgazed her, Karrin. It's kind of hard to hide bad intentions from that." She gave me the look. Yes, that look. I put my hands up defensively. "Hey, she showed up out of thin air. It was the fastest way to see what kind of person she was. It's not like I make a habit of it." She kept up the stare for a good minute while I sputtered and protested my innocence. A wicked smile spread across her face while she watched me squirm. Stars and stones, women can be downright evil.

"Have you ever been fooled by a soulgaze before?"

"It's not foolproof. While it isn't possible to hide ill intent or truly bad character, it doesn't always give a complete picture." Murphy held out an upturned palm, indicating that she wanted me to elaborate. "Yang fights against the darkness, but there's an emptiness in her heart. I can guess what that probably is, though." She had talked about her sister, and had mentioned her dad, but—

"My mom," Yang said. I turned around and saw her standing there, wrapped in my robe, hair bundled up in a towel. She had Mister draped, belly-up in the crook of her arm. He looked perfectly content as she rubbed his tummy. I pushed the empty chair out with my foot and she sat down in it. She looked down at Mister and scritched him under the chin while she talked.

"When I was little, my sister and I lived in Patch, a tiny island off the coast of Vale, with our mom and dad. Summer Rose was amazing; baker of cookies and monster-slayer all wrapped up in one. She went on a mission when I was seven, and never came back." She looked up at us; Murphy was transfixed. "Dad kind of fell apart, so I did my best to take care of Ruby. That went on for almost a year. I got frustrated a lot. I wasn't super-mom, and dad just wasn't all there."

"It wasn't much longer before I found out that Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost. Before her, he was with my mom, Raven." This sounded like a bad soap opera, but for some reason my tongue had cloven to the roof of my mouth. It hit kind of close to home. "She'd left me with dad not long after I was born. I don't know why, and I got into trouble a couple of times trying to find out whatever I could."

"Did you ever find anything?" Murphy asked, breaking the tense silence. Yang shook her head and let Mister slide off her lap. He wandered off to another part of the house to do Mister things.

"No, not really. I caught a glimpse of her a few months back. I'd gotten into a pretty bad situation, and she saved me. Then she left without saying a word." Yang frowned and traced her fingers across the table. "It wasn't until a week ago that Uncle Qrow told me that she'd saved me, but that I shouldn't expect that kindness again." What the hell kind of crappy woman was this Raven? I got the feeling there was a lot of missing context.

"That's one of the many reasons I need to get back home. I've always gone along with whatever life throws at me. If there's something going on here, if I'm involved somehow…" She trailed off. So, she'd heard that. "My family and friends are counting on me, but I won't leave if there's work to be done, or," she looked at Murphy intently, "people to help. If they—if you want it." Something in Yang's tone offered a challenge, and a hint of steel.

Whatever doubts Karrin had evaporated; she stood up and came around the table to face Yang, nodding once. Yang stood and unraveled the towel from her hair, which glowed like sunlight. I don't mean it gleamed from the kitchen light. I mean it glowed _brighter_ than the bulb overhead. She placed her right hand over Karrin's heart and told her to close her eyes and focus. She reached her left hand to wrap around the back of Karrin's neck gently. Yang's body limned in a yellow glow, and the words she spoke made the hair on my arms and neck stand on end.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

Fuck me. I've seen some shit in my day, but this was a whole new level of... I don't know what. Karrin started to glow a cerulean blue, brighter and brighter, until it made my eyes water. I vaguely recall hearing Yang utter the words, "Oh, shit!" right before a loud bang and flash of light blew out the windows. There was a metallic clang and a grunt of surprise that sounded reasonably Yang-like. I didn't have the presence of mind to wonder about that – the vision before me just wouldn't allow for it.

Karrin Murphy was glowing. She was, in fact, the only source of light in the room. Her outline crackled with little bolts of electricity and she stared in wide-eyed... something. Awe? Horror? It was ten heartbeats before I could muster enough will to speak.

"Karrin? Are you okay?" Nothing. Crap. You better not have broken her, Yang. "Murphy!" I raised my voice. That seemed to get her attention. She looked down at her hands and her mouth dropped wide open. She looked up at me and said, "I'm fine." The fact that the pitch of her voice had gone up was not completely convincing, but she didn't give me time to double-check. "Yang!" I looked across the room; there was a sizable dent in the refrigerator door. Yang stood, bent over at the waist, hands resting on her knees as she panted heavily. Something was wrong with her though, she was hard to see.

I held up my hand and called a light spell to hand, thinking that it was Karrin's glow dimming down. My spell brought the room to a more normal level of light, and I saw what Murphy was worried about. Yang stood up, still panting, and I could see the dent she'd made _through_ her. She'd gone partial ghost. When she spoke, the words had a hollow, ethereal quality to them.

"Holy smokes, Murphy! You've got more Aura than I've ever heard of anyone having. Not even Professor Goodwitch has that much. It almost wiped me out." I walked over and gingerly reached out to touch Yang on the arm. She felt solid enough, but I was freaked out enough that I steered her by the elbow to the chair Murphy had picked up off the floor. I took a second to affix the light up by the shattered bulb and crouched down to look Yang in the face.

She was looking at – through her hands, and for all of the world like a scared teenage girl. Murphy knelt down on the other side of the chair and put a hand on Yang's knee.

"I've... never done this before. Am I gonna be okay?" Yang asked. I didn't have an answer for her.

-  
 **A/N - Hey guys! I was able to get this written a few days early, I hope you enjoy it! I also wanted to warn you all ahead of time, but November is rapidly approaching, and that means I'll be making my yearly attempt at NaNoWriMo. I will still be writing Dust and Motes, but I'm attempting to finish the first Arc before v4 starts up. In other news, I'll be starting a separate, but related story focusing on Penny after her reconstruction. The working title for this is The Twelve Swords of Penny Polendina (though I am open to suggestions). I won't go into too much detail, but think RWBY meets GitS (kind of).**


	13. Ch 11 - Legenscary, I Say

Karrin and I looked at each other, her expression mixed with worry and consternation. The glow around her had completely faded. Yang covered her eyes with both hands, looking through them.

"Am I a ghost?" Her mind skipped ahead. "Am I dead?!"

"I don't think so," I said with confidence. "Let me check something." I'd noticed that while Yang was translucent, the borrowed robe was not. I stood and made my way back to the bathroom. When I turned on the light, my suspicions were confirmed. I grabbed the neatly folded clothes and boots, and then returned to the kitchen. I set them down on the table; they were also mostly transparent.

"Where's your scroll, Yang?" She reached into a pocket on her jacket and pulled out the little device. Sliding it open, she made a gesture, pulling up her team stats. It was a little hard to see, but her aura bar was nearly empty and flashing red. "That's what I thought. It also raises more questions."

"Like what, Harry? What are you thinking?" Yang was doing her best not to panic.

"Well, for starters, I don't think you're a ghost – spirits don't bleed like you did for Andi. They also don't eat food. I'm just spit-balling here, but I think you're here, sans body. It's not really a stretch that anyone with an activated soul wouldn't project a solid presence." I admit, it was damned strange, but I did spend the better part of a week disembodied and running around, possessing people. Strangeness is a spectrum.

"But what does that mean for her?" Karrin asked. "What happens if her aura gets completely depleted?" That was worrisome. I honestly didn't know.

"Could be one of two things happen." I held up one index finger and looked at Yang. "One, you could snap back to wherever your body is or, two…" I let it hang there. Yang thought about it for a second.

"I could die." Murphy glared at me.

"The body can't live without the soul, Sparky. I don't think that'll happen though. The real question is who or what sent you here? I get the feeling that whoever did it, they sent you to me for a reason."

"That's a pretty big assumption," Murphy deadpanned. I shook my head.

"It's a gut feeling. Work with me here: In the whole wide world, she just _happens_ to show up on my doorstep? Come on. Even you can't ignore that." Murphy rolled her eyes.

"Fine, oh lord of Q.E.D. What does that mean for our not-ghostly friend, here?"

"Hey! I thought we agreed that Bob held that title." I didn't give her the chance to retort. "Whatever sent her here had to go to an awful lot of trouble. I mean, why go and do that if they wanted her out of the way for whatever reason? Seriously, it would be easier to off her – no offense, Yang."

"None taken. What's your point?" she asked, brow furrowed.

"It would take an unreasonable and insane amount of power to get you from Remnant to Demonreach, and past all its defenses." The more I talked, the righter it sounded. "Someone putting out that kind of effort, I'm willing to bet they have some sort of fallback plan in case you get tapped out, so to speak. It's not even hard logic to come by."

"But how?" What did I look like, answer guy? Don't answer that.

"Beats me, Sparky." I doubted Ebenezer could answer that question. Venture a guess, maybe, but me? Not a clue. The only thing I had reference to skated way over the line of wrong.

"Why? What's the motive, Harry?" Murphy thinking like a cop was starting to mess with my Zen thing.

"That's the sixty four thousand dollar question, isn't it? I have no idea, but you got me thinking earlier." Now I felt like I was grasping at straws, but I went on anyway. "How long has Rumble in the Bronx been going on?" Yang had been looking back and forth between us. She held up a hand.

"Rumble in the… Bronks?" She asked. I winked at her.

"The cliché gangsters we ran into earlier today have been busy." Yang made a silent Oh face. "How busy, Murph?"

"A few days. What are you getting at?"

"I just have to wonder, is Yang the only person – or thing – to show up from Remnant?" Yang squinted.

"Torchwick. Those punks are _just_ his style, but…" she paused and frowned. "He's dead."

"Are you sure?" She nodded.

"Ruby saw him get eaten by a Griffon, like, swallowed whole." She shuddered and grimaced. Well crap, so much for that idea. "It was weird though. She said after it ate him, it flew off."

"Why is that so strange?" Murphy asked.

"Because Grimm aren't like that. A perfectly good target right in front of it, and it just flies off? That's not normal behavior for them."

"Could he have survived, somehow?" I asked. Yang shook her head firmly.

"No. People have been gobbled up before and the Grimm that ate them were killed minutes later – it all dissolves away and there's nothing left." Whoa. That's disturbing as hell. Where did they go?

We were talking ourselves in circles. I glanced at Yang's scroll and noticed that her aura was still in the red, but had stopped flashing. I pointed at it. "It looks like you're getting better already."

Karrin pointed at the picture.

"That's your aura? It's like," her face screwed up in thought, "like a life bar?" Yang nodded, and then twiddled her fingers on another part of the screen. She took Karrin's finger and pushed it down on a flashing box that appeared. The scroll chimed and flashed after a moment, and then a picture of Murphy appeared on the screen next to the faded one of Weiss – complete with a big green bar of her own. Cool! "Oh! But why is yours all wiped out now?" Yang shook her head ruefully. She was considerably less worried than she had been a minute ago.

"I'm a dunce, as Weiss would say. Unlocking someone else's aura costs some energy. I didn't know it was – what's the word? Proportional. Yeah. I should be fine after a good night's sleep." While it was a relief to hear her say it, I still had concerns. She did seem a little more solid now, but I could still see the kitchen counter through her head. "It looks like your leg isn't bothering you as much now, Murphy. How do you feel?" Dude. In all the commotion, I completely missed the fact that not only was Karrin _not_ using her cane, but she was actually kneeling on her bad knee. From the look of shock on her face, Karrin hadn't realized it either. She stood up slowly and flexed her leg experimentally.

"Oh, wow." She slowly crouched up and down partway a couple of times. "It's sore, but not the savage ache I've gotten used to. I think I can fee– Oh. My. God. I. Am. _Starving!_ " Whatever thought she'd had was so completely overridden by the need for food that she went straight for the fridge. I stared as she limped over to it, yanked open the dented door and pulled out a large covered bowl of something. She tore off the foil and plunged in a hand, pulling something toward her face. From the sounds she was making, I was a little glad her back was turned to us.

"Uhm… Murphy?" Yang asked. Karrin whirled around, chewing furiously on a drumstick of chicken. "Can I have some?" Murphy growled and clutched the bowl to her chest. "Oh. Harry, a little help here?" I looked at Yang, and then I looked at Murphy, who had not stopped. There was a dangerous glint in her eyes. I'd seen that look before, on Thomas, of all people. NOPE.

"Screw _that_ , Yang, you're on your own." I wasn't even going to try. Hell no. Yang laughed and leaned back. There was a bowl of bananas on the counter, and I slowly side-stepped my way toward it. Karrin's eyes tracked me until she was sure I wasn't coming to take away her food. I brought the fruit over and set it on the table without taking my eyes off Karrin. "Here, munch on that. Is she alright?" Yang picked up a banana and took a bite without peeling it. Alright, coffee she knows, but an unpeeled banana? That's just _gross_.

"Oh sure," Yang said between crunchy chews, "she's okay. Her body needs the energy to heal. Give it a minute." I sat down next to Yang and watched in awe as Karrin finished off the entire bowl of bird. Once it was reduced to bones, she stared down into it in disappointment. She came back to her senses and looked back up at us sheepishly.

"I don't suppose we could pretend that didn't just happen, could we?" My lips twitched – Yang didn't have that kind of self-control and snickered around her third banana.

"I dunno, Murph. Are you still hungry?" She looked down at the bowl, disconsolate.

"I suppose I am, but I'm not cooking this late at night."

"Pizza Spress is still open," I ventured. She gave me a look that managed to be daggers and delight all at once. I _really_ needed to learn how to do that. Seriously, you guys. Shivers, every time.

"You are a bad man, Harry Dresden." She plunked the bowl on the counter and fished a box of light-bulbs out of her junk drawer. She tossed it to me. "Here, Jolly Green Giant, put that in and turn off your glow worm. I'll go make the call." She decided that maybe using her cane was still a good idea and fetched it before making her way to the living room. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside to see her barely need it. I was also glad she was taking it easy.

I changed the broken light bulb out and collapsed the spell. I found the broom and dustpan and cleared up the broken bits. After that was done, I poked my hand through a couple of empty window frames and shook my head. I'd have to find some cardboard or some plastic sheeting until we could see about getting new glass.

Yang contented herself by not speaking and finishing the last of the fruit. Jesus. There were like, nine of those. I shuddered to think what a whole school full of these kids must cost to feed. I still had no idea how Charity fed her brood for all of those years. It was then that it occurred to me that now Murphy might have a similar problem. I giggled. It was a cute image.

"What's so funny, Harry?" I smiled.

"I was just imagining tiny Murphy eating enough food to choke an elephant." Yang clenched her tongue between her teeth.

"Yeah, we do eat a lot." Murphy came hobbling back in and sat down.

"Pizza will be here in thirty-ish. You're paying for it, Dresden." I winced, but it was only fair. I pointedly did not look at the windows. "Did we actually resolve anything?"

"Not really. We don't have anything but a serious lack of information and wild theories. Think you can find out more about what's been going on here in town?" She grunted but nodded her assent.

"I can head over to the BFS tomorrow and do some digging. What about you?" I knew what I needed to do before anything else happened.

"I've got a summoning to set up. Bob suggested that I reach out to the Loa – they're more familiar with The Dreamlands. If nothing else, I can bargain for directions." I hoped. The Ulsharavas was a long shot, but I had to start somewhere. Hopefully Mab's dubbing wouldn't change her attitude toward me.

"What about me?" Yang asked. "Am I still your pea in a pod?" That was a fair question. Instinct told me that having her around for a chat with Ulsharavas might not be such a hot idea.

"Summoning spirits can be finicky. It might be better for you to tag along with Murphy." I lifted my tone and looked to Karrin.

"Sure, she can come with me. If there's down time, maybe she can walk me through Aura exercises." We sketched out a plan for the day, and it didn't take much to convince Karrin to avoid talking to Marcone's people unless absolutely necessary. They might have intel on the new player, but I _really_ didn't want him knowing about Yang at all.

A knock from the front signified that pizza had arrived. I went to answer, grabbing my wallet along the way. The front door opened to reveal a skinny twenty something kid with dark eyes and thick eyebrows.

"Hey, Harry! 'Nother game night?" He had two bags on each arm. I waved him in once my eyes stopped bugging out of my head.

"Hey, Seth. I wish – come on in." I thought about taking him to the kitchen and then remembered see-through Yang, so I had him take it over to the living room table instead. He unloaded bags and gave me the damage, which wasn't really all that bad. I think the manager must have given me a permanent discount – I'm sure I'd put at least _one_ kid through college with all the business I gave them. Once he was paid (with a healthy tip) and on his way, I stacked the boxes and carried them back to the starving women.

Let me tell you, the way they slaughtered those twenty pizzas is the stuff of legends. And maybe nightmares.


	14. Ch 12 - Let it Go

By the time we made it to bed, it was around Midnight. I had flopped onto the bed and immediately made with the log impression. I didn't even notice Karrin snuggle up next to me, but that was how I woke up several hours later. She had curled herself into a ball in front of me and rested my arm and a blanket over top of her. I could see daylight out the window, and while I felt a little cranky and didn't want to get out of bed, at least the sun was _up_ this time.

I debated briefly about going back to sleep and decided against it. I carefully disentangled from Karrin instead, who was snoring gently. She stirred and mumbled, but let me go without much resistance. I tucked the blanket around her as I rolled off the bed. I grabbed some clean clothes and made my way to the bathroom for a quick shower. The cold water washed out the last of the cobwebs in my brain. I scrubbed until I felt reasonably clean.

Once I was dried and dressed I made my way to the kitchen and set water to boil for coffee. I poked my head in the living room long enough to look at Yang. She was indeed much less see-throughey. Murphy had lent her some sweats and a t-shirt to use for pajamas. Her mouth hung open as she lay sprawled on the couch. Mister had wormed his way between her arm and her side and lay belly-up. It was adorable; if I'd known how to do it, I'd have filched her scroll and taken a picture.

I saw the wooden skull on the bookshelf across the room; green eyelights had winked into existence. I held up an index finger to my lips. I tiptoed over to it, not wanting to wake Yang, who, despite looking more tangible, was still quite pale. I scooped up the skull and made my way back to the kitchen. I set it down on the table and made coffee. She waited quietly while I made a mug and sat down.

"You're back early," she started. I took a drink of steamy java and savored it for a moment. "Who's the girl? She's neat."

"Yeah, she dropped in yesterday. We didn't have time to stop and pick up your comic books, though." The spirit sighed in mock disappointment. I had been pleasantly surprised to learn that this particular spirit didn't have Bob's flavor of reading material. Much easier to bribe.

"Aw, I suppose that's okay. Batgirl doesn't come out until tomorrow anyway. Oh!" she piped. "I think I settled on a name!" Wonderful. Please don't be Bob Two Point Oh… "Bonnie!" Well, it wasn't terrible, and it would be nice to call her something.

"Bonnie, huh? I like it." I was thankful she'd picked something easy to remember. While I wasn't planning to do it any time soon, calling her name in a fight would be easy. "So Bonnie, how do you feel about a field trip?"

"I'm glad you like it!" she exclaimed. "Where are we going? It's been weeks and weeks since we went anywhere."

"Not so fast, kiddo. We should probably talk about what's been going on first." I spent the next twenty minutes or so explaining the events of the past day. "So we need to go have a chat with Ulsharavas, which means we'll need some supplies. Do you remember them?" I hadn't been able to replace parts of my library yet, and Dumont's Guide was one of the books I still needed to find a copy of. Ebenezer had helped a great deal. I know for a fact that he'd snuck in some 'light reading' that hadn't been in my collection as well. Esoteric theory stuff, but some of it was practical – heck, some of it was just within my grasp, if I could make time for it. I really missed my lab.

"Of course I do. Would you like me to write it down for you? It's a short list, but it _is_ pretty early." Brat. I slurped coffee instead. After an appropriate amount of caffeine intake, I went and found a notepad and pen. Bonnie listed the items I would need and gave me the words to the summoning, which was fairly simple. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do after chatting with Ulsharavas, assuming she was in the mood to talk. I made a second cup of joe, seeking inspiration in the murky depths of the mug. Unfortunately, none materialized.

Bonnie happily chattered away about what she'd been up to for the last several days, and as she was telling me about a silly television show when Yang shambled into the room. She didn't look like she was really awake, but she managed to mumble a greeting, I think, and make herself a mug. Bonnie had piped down when Yang-zombie came in. Yang sat and propped an elbow on the table so she could rest half her face in her free hand. She took a long drink and didn't say anything. I know that feeling.

"Good morning!" Bonnie said cheerily. Yang cracked one eye open and smiled.

"G'morning. What pretty green eyes you have."

"Thanks! They're not as pretty as yours, though," she replied.

Yang looked over at me. "Are there talking skulls everywhere, Harry? Good morning to you too, by the way." I raised my mug in salute.

"No. In fact, Bob and Bonnie here are the only two spirits of intellect that I actually know"

"I see. Where do they come from?" That was an interesting question, in Bob's case anyway. He was around before my time, and I'd never asked him.

"Well, Yang, I couldn't say in Bob's case – he's quite a bit older than me. Bonnie came from me, sort of." Murphy snorted and shuffled into the room. Great. She rarely got a chance to tell the story, and I just knew she was going to do it.

"Well, you see, Yang, when a shadow of a fallen angel takes up residence in a wizard's brainpan…" Yang laughed so hard at Karrin's version of events that tears were streaming down her face by the end of it. I grumbled into my coffee and tried to pretend that I hadn't heard a word.

I had endured the teasing with as much fortitude as I could muster, and eventually convinced the pair of them to have breakfast. Once everyone was fed and dressed, we had clambered into Murphy's car. She'd dropped me off at the parking garage where we'd left Dragula. Murphy and I exchanged brief words and wished each other luck. She'd given me a gentle kiss, and then sent me on my way with a playful shove.

I went to the nearest Walmart and got most of what I'd need for the summoning, needing only one more stop to pick up a bottle of whiskey. Liquor stores open early on a weekday were hard to come by; it took three tries before I found one. In between stops, Bonnie filled the silence with speculations on whether Cassandra Cain would still make a good Batgirl. I'd tried following along, but with all the reboots the comic industry seemed obsessed with, it was convoluted at best. I might be a wizard, but even we have our limits.

Once we arrived at the building that housed Molly's apartment, Bonnie's eyelights went out, and I put her in the duffel bag. I had decided that while I was safe enough going into Svartalf territory, I wasn't about to broadcast that I had a spirit of intellect with me. The security guard took one look through the window and waved me on through.

I made my way down to Molly's apartment – which she had insisted was as much mine as it was hers. I couldn't bring myself to just move in and set up shop, but knew that I occasionally needed a space to work in. I knocked on the door and waited for a good minute before unlocking it and going inside. I'd never interrupted her before, but it was polite to at least give her some warning if she was in. As it turned out, nobody was home.

I went straight to the back of the large room. At some point she'd paid to have a summoning circle made. It was exactly like the last one I'd had before the boarding house – and my apartment – had burned to the ground. Whatever she might be now, Molly was always thoughtful. I'd bet good money she'd gone to the same smith I had to get it made. It was the same five feet across, braided copper, silver, and iron inscribed with focusing runes. The first time I'd seen it, Molly hadn't even been here for me to appreciate it. I may or may not have teared up a little.

I set the duffel bag down on the makeshift work table that had also been set up and leaned my staff next to it. It held a small stack of books and a few items I'd put together myself. Molly probably hadn't been sure what all I might need or want, and had left it up to me to bring my own stuff. I pulled Bonnie out of the bag and set her down next to her stack of comic books she wanted kept here. She read quietly while I set the offerings and doll inside the circle.

I read over the summoning a few times to set it in mind and reached down to touch the cool metals with a small effort of will. The circle closed and I could feel the charge in the air. Setting will to my voice, I called out, "Ulsharavas. Ulsharavas. Ulsharavas. One lost in ignorance seeks you. One darkened by the lack of knowledge seeks your light. Come, guardian of memory, sentinel of the yet to come." I pushed the energy into the circle and waited, palms upturned. I didn't have to wait long. Less than a minute went by before the edges of the circle lit up. Sparkling motes of energy swirled inside and settled on the doll. It stood up and stretched, then sighed in disappointment.

"What is it with you and dolls, Wizard? How hard can a corpse be to come by?" I shrugged. The little blonde doll came up to my thigh this time, at least. Last time I'd used a Cabbage Patch Doll that was quite a bit shorter. This one was an elegant Disney character – Maggie loved Elsa. Okay, so it was probably too on the nose, Winter Knight buying a Frozen doll, but that was the biggest one I could find. "I hope you don't expect me to sing that silly song." Perish the thought. Maggie had sung it a few hundred times, and I knew it by heart.

"I don't, and mortal authorities kind of frown on using corpses for this sort of thing. Dolls are probably the best I'm going to be able to do. At least this one's taller." The doll rolled its big blue eyes and bent down to grab the cup of whiskey in two dainty little hands. She lifted it without much effort and drank it all. Once that was done, she set down the cup and sat sideways, arranging her skirt so it folded neatly under her legs. She grabbed two big handfuls of tobacco and chewed for a few moments before grabbing another handful.

"You wish to know about the Dreamland of Remnant, and how one of its warriors came to you, and how to get her back there." I nodded. "The one I will speak freely about. The second and third will come at a price." Her price had been simple and easy to fulfill last time, and she had offered additional information last time, no charge.

"Let's talk price, then." I waited patiently while she spat out bits of tobacco and took some more.

"The last time we met, Wizard, I asked you if you should think about why you do as you have been. I would like to hear those thoughts, and why you chose to be the Winter Queen's champion – how that responsibility has affected your reasons." I remember the annoyance that her original question had caused, and I had indeed given it a great deal of thought, repeatedly over the years.

"Money and knowledge will take me only so far. Without goals or purpose, they seem like hollow things," I began. "Why build either of those things if not to use them to make the world a better place? This place, if you haven't noticed, is trying it's best to fall apart and go to Hell–"

"It has ever been thus, Wizard. What makes it any different?" Ulsharavas interrupted.

"I've been shown the bigger picture. I might not understand all of it, but I get the basic idea. The White Council is playing a long, dangerous game in ignorance – at least partially – and in the meantime, the rest of us get overlooked or carelessly sacrificed." I couldn't keep the heat out of my voice. "Why do I do it? Because nobody else will. Being the Winter Knight gives me another set of tools to fight with. I'll take whatever I can get to hold on to what we all have." I let out a slow breath. Ulsharavas pondered this for a moment before dipping her head slightly.

"Not the best answer, but still a good one. It is well that you are aware of the Adversary, for it moves within Remnant. Such was not always so." What? Nemesis was loose in Yang's world? The shock must have been easy to read. "You cannot possibly think that the war for creation would be fought on only a few small fronts can you?" I glowered, but closed my eyes and nodded. "The Huntress was sent here to balance the scales. Another from her world came here not long ago." That wasn't really a surprise, but it was nice to have confirmation.

"Remnant is a cycle. Light and dark, one cannot exist without the other. This has been the way for millennia. The Adversary, however, has thrown the cycle into imbalance." I nodded; most of that made sense. "What you do not realize is that what happened last night is something that has never been done." I held my breath. _Murphy_. "There will be… unforeseen consequences, both in this world and that one. The Vagabond will be forced to move, now." My blood froze in my veins. If she had that much power, what was the other half of that going to look like?

"You will need to see this through in both realms." Great. Wonderful. Lookin' forward to that. "Now, for my last bargain. You will need to learn what the Sidhe call Whisper-walking. When it is time, cross to the spirit realm and call for me. I require that you allow me to guide you for the journey. All three of you must come." I bowed my head and passed a hand down my face, pinching my bottom lip between thumb and knuckle. Murphy had been drawn into this much further than I'd wanted. I knew she would do it in a heartbeat, consequences be damned, but… She was going to have to learn fast.

"Very well, I agree to your terms." The doll nodded and stood, grabbing a final handful of tobacco and chomping on it.

"Then I shall wait for you in between." The doll collapsed and the glowing motes swirled out, then hung and faded into nothingness.

Fantastic. Murphy was _definitely_ going to kill me.


	15. Ch 13 - Girls Just Wanna Have

Yang rode next to Murphy in relative silence. Morning traffic in this Chicago was pretty dense, and the smell of all that exhaust still bothered her a lot. It was hard to believe that they didn't have Dust here. Earth people seemed capable of so much, yet they seemed so _backward_ in a lot of ways. She wondered if it was because they didn't have a common enemy to worry about. What made them so different from the people of Remnant? Not one person had an activated aura? How many of them were there, even?

Yang noticed that Murphy would sneak glances at her, but hadn't said anything. Was there something on her face? Neither of them had spoken since they'd left Harry at the parking garage. Maybe she was waiting for Yang to say something. They could talk about aura stuff, or what was going on here in the city that Murphy was looking into, but those all seemed _boring_. She made up her mind.

"Murphy?" she asked, who looked over at her with a questing hmm. "How long have you known Harry?" If the question caught her off guard, it didn't show. She thought about it for a minute, figuring the math.

"It's been almost nineteen years aaand wow, has it really been that long?" Murphy shook her head in disbelief.

"How did you two meet?" They seemed so different from each other, even if they did fit together really well.

"I was a beat cop back then, looking into a kidnapped child case, which turned out to be a load of bull. He was working with a private investigator back before he struck out on his own. I liked him for the kidnapper on account of the girl he had in tow." Murphy laughed ruefully. "Turns out the kid's parents had hired them and then changed their minds. I didn't actually meet him until we had to fight a troll." A what, now?

"What's a troll?" Yang kind of remembered something from one of the stories she used to read to Ruby, but that was such a long time ago.

"Big ugly monster that lives under bridges and snatches up naughty children – or Billy goats, if they're hungry enough. So Harry says, anyway." Murphy shivered at the memory.

"Are you pulling my leg, Murphy?" Yang was sure she was.

"Well, maybe about the goats. I can't always tell when he's being serious about that stuff. Yeah, a real troll. I'd never seen anything like that in my entire life. Scared the hell out of me, thinking I was going crazy."

"So you didn't know about wizards or magic, or any of that before you met him?" she asked, curious now.

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss, Yang. I've seen things that would give you gray hairs." Murphy shrugged a shoulder uncomfortably. "That wasn't how the world worked, as far as I was concerned. I wouldn't trade any of it, though." Yang thought she understood what Murphy meant by that.

"How long have you and Harry been together?" Now that did get a reaction. Murphy's cheeks colored as she huffed out a breath.

"It's only been a few months. We'd been dancing around it for a while." She smiled. It looked good on her. "And what about you, Miss Xiao Long? Got anybody special back home?" Yang tilted her head and turned both palms up for a moment.

"Not really, not like that anyway. I like boys, but nobody's ever really held my attention long enough to be special." Besides, seeing what her dad went through, sometimes it didn't really seem worth it. "I mean, there's my partner, Blake, but she's more like a sister than anything else, ya' know?" Murphy gave her a knowing look.

"And where is she now, do you think?" Yang's thoughts darkened at that.

"It's hard to say, what with the time difference. She went on a mission with Weiss, dad and Uncle Qrow, trying to track down Adam." She really wanted to be there to help with the beating he deserved, but was probably going to miss it.

"Who is he?" Murphy asked.

"He's dead meat, is what he is. Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang – a bunch of crazy Faunus that use violence to get what they think they deserve." The thought of what they'd done was making her blood boil. "He led them in an attack on our school. We were able to run them off, but not before they did a lot of damage." Murphy took it in stride, anger and all.

"What are Faunus?" Yang was taken aback for a moment, forgetting where she was.

"Oh," she calmed after a moment, "they're people with animal traits. Cat ears, monkey tails, that sort of thing. They kind of have a right to be upset – humans don't always treat them so good. That's no excuse for the things the White Fang has been doing, though." It was especially hard on Blake, watching her people rain destruction down on her friends.

"And is Blake a Faunus?" Murphy's question took her by surprise. Was she a mind reader? She looked over at her traveling companion with wide eyes. "I'm a—I used to be a cop, Yang. I read people pretty well, and can put things together along with that. Is Weiss a Faunus, too?" Yang choked on air. It would have been priceless to see Weiss react to _that_ question. She'd have to settle for imagination.

"No, she most definitely is not," her voice was full of mirth. Yang couldn't get the image of _that_ conversation out of her head. "Blake and Adam have history, and Weiss and the White Fang are the same way. Dad and Uncle Qrow were the only Huntsmen available to go with them after the safe zone in Vale was established."

Her dad had been pretty upset when Qrow asked him to go. He hadn't wanted to, but Qrow insisted. She could only imagine what would happen once he found out that both she and Ruby had been hurt. Taiyang Xiao Long was a gentle man, but she'd seen his temper once. He never raised a hand or voice to Yang after her … adventure with Ruby. Heat had rolled off him in angry, physical waves while he calmly scolded his eldest daughter for putting herself and Ruby in so much danger.

Some good had come of it, though. That had been what snapped him out of his misery, got him to start acting like a dad again. Her training had started the very next day. Of course, she hadn't thought about it like that at the time. Taiyang was a great dad, but a tough instructor. She was so lost in those thoughts that she hadn't heard Murphy's question. She was brought back to the present by a light touch on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Murphy smiled and returned her attention to driving.

"I was asking what kind of Faunus Blake was, but if something's on your mind, it's not important." Yang grinned and shook her bangs out of her eyes.

"She's a cat Faunus. Little ears on top of her head, but she usually hides them with a bow." Murphy's eyebrows went up, but she smiled in pleasant surprise.

"Why would she do that? Does she purr?" Yang belted out a laugh of surprise. She'd often wondered if Blake did make cat noises, but had never asked or tried to get her to do it. They were friends and partners, but Yang felt that was a line she shouldn't cross.

"She didn't want the attention, and no, I've never heard her purr like a kitten. She _does_ love her tuna, though." Yang noticed that the buildings were getting smaller, leaving the city and it's, what did they call them, skyscrapers? They were one of the most amazing things about this Earth, to her at least. She supposed that if Remnant didn't have Nevermores and Griffons, they might build like that too. Beacon tower was pretty tall, but it housed the CCT – it had to be.

"What made you want to become a Huntress, Yang?" Murphy was a very curious woman, probably because of her former profession, Yang supposed. It was nice to have something to talk about, to distract her from everything she'd been worrying about since she got here.

"Porfess- _Doctor_ Oobleck asked me that, once. At the time, I thought it was because I wanted the adventure. Nobody had ever asked me about it before, and I hadn't really thought about it until then." Murphy said nothing but nodded as she turned a corner. "I like helping people, and I do enjoy getting mixed up in crazy situations, but it really all comes down to finding my mom." Yang had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, she was angry about being abandoned. On the other, there had to be at least one good reason why Raven had taken off. Yang intended to find out why.

"Raven and Qrow…" Murphy trailed. "Brother and sister, I take it?" Yang nodded mutely. "Why do you think she left?"

"I honestly don't know. He says she's dangerous, and that the way they view the world clashes. I never knew her – Summer was my mom, as far as I'm concerned. She raised me like her own, and never treated me any different than Ruby. I still want to know about Raven, though."

"Wouldn't your uncle or dad tell you anything about her?" Yang gave a quick exhale from her nose, resigned to the answer.

"The only thing dad would say was that she wasn't ever coming back. I think her leaving was just too painful for him. And Qrow… is Qrow. If he doesn't want to talk about something, he just ignores it and changes the subject." Yang was still kind of upset with him for holding out on her. "I caught him by surprise right before everything fell apart. We haven't had much time to talk since then." She didn't really expect anyone to understand, but Murphy surprised her.

"Families, right? At least your sister didn't marry your ex." Yang's jaw dropped wide open.

"Are you kidding me? She went and did that?" Murphy quirked her eyebrows and nodded.

"Wow. I mean, there's messed up and then there's _that_. I can't even imagine what that must be like."

"I do what your uncle does – ignore the situation as much as possible and get on with my own life."

"That sounds sensible. And besides, you've got Harry!" Yang gave a thumbs up. She was going to ask what finally got them together, but the building Murphy parked in front of erased all thought of that from her mind. "We're going to a castle?"

"Yep. Welcome to the Chicago Alliance H.Q."

* * *

Yang had to admit that the baby castle was pretty impressive. Murphy had scanned the parking lot, though she wasn't sure what the woman was looking for. Once she was satisfied with whatever she found, they got out and made their way to the front door. She had kept her cane and wasn't really using it. Yang had winced at the explanation of the injury, and was very glad that she was able to help.

Yang had never seen an aura awakened manually before, but she was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to happen like that. She felt a little bad about messing up Murphy's kitchen. Murphy, however, had shrugged it off as 'another day at the office'.

They were greeted by a man named Sven as they entered the building, and she had given him an appraising look up and down. She had to give the man credit; his face betrayed no emotion. Part of her had looked at him from a fighter's perspective, but another part of her couldn't help but appreciate all those muscles and the rough look. Murphy traded a few words with him. He was soft spoken, but still managed to sound like a piece of iron.

After they talked, Murphy gestured for her to follow, and they made their way upstairs and through a couple of hallways, passing a gym with odd looking contraptions and a roped-off ring. Murphy stopped at a set of double doors and went inside. Yang followed and ran into Murphy when she pulled up short. Yang couldn't quite see over her head, so she leaned to the side.

Sitting at the conference table were two people, and next to it was the _biggest_ dog Yang had ever seen in her entire life. It wasn't a dog so much as it was a shaggy, heavily muscled pony. A little girl sat happily coloring on a piece of paper with a few different crayons. The girl had looked up and had a big smile on her face. The woman sitting next to her, by contrast, did not.

For a moment, Yang thought she was looking at Weiss, but that didn't last long. The pale-haired woman was a fair bit taller and didn't have a scar over her left eye. She wore a business suit of blues and greens made out of some shiny material that looked really soft. The outfit and her demeanor would have suited Weiss just fine. She wasn't frowning, but her eyes were like chips of sapphire. And looking right at her.

"Hi, Karrin!" The little girl quipped. The dog chuffed and bounced happily on his paws, doggy grin wide and lolling. Yang thought they were adorable. Murphy softly toned an 'uh-oh' and put on her best smile.

"Hi, Spaghetti-o!" What the heck was a spagettee-oh? "You're spending time with Molly today?"

"Uh-huh! We're going to see a movie later. Are you gonna come, too?" She turned to look at Molly. "Are Karrin and her friend coming too?" Molly genuinely smiled down at the little girl. "Who's your friend, Karrin? Would she like to see a movie?" Yang had forgotten how adorable small children could be. Molly looked back at Murphy and Yang, and while the smile didn't completely disappear, it shrank a fraction.

"I don't know Maggie, Murphy and her friend, _Yang Xiao Long_ , might have work to do." As soon as Molly said her name, Yang suddenly felt pinned down in place. It wasn't painful, but she could tell right away that she was rooted to that spot. Everything felt heavy. "Can you take Mouse and go show Skaldi your drawings? We need to have grown-up talk for a few minutes." Maggie nodded cheerfully and gathered up her papers and hopped off the chair. Mouse stood up and walked her to the door, pausing long enough to rub up against Yang and lick her hand a couple of times.

"I hope you can come with us. We're going to go see Finding Dory!" Murphy ruffled her hair.

"We'll see kiddo. Go on now; I'm sure Skaldi will be excited to see what you drew." She reached over and scratched Mouse behind the ears as he passed. Maggie and the monster dog shuffled out of the room and down the hallway. Once they were out of earshot, the pressure lifted off of Yang and she could move again. Molly looked at the two of them with a neutral expression, and then gestured to the chairs opposite.

"We need to talk."

 **A/N - I felt like people might be getting a little tired of reading things from Harry's point of view, so I decided to shift focus for a chapter. For those of you pining for some action, just hang in there - it's coming! I'd hoped to have this arc wrapped by the time v4 starts, but it looks like that probably isn't going to happen. Fear not, though! I will continue to write (and do my best to not let new content from RWBY mess with the story too much).**

 **I'm also starting to work on a related story, The Twelve Swords of Penny Polendina. Initially I had wanted to include it as a part of Dust and Motes, but I feel like it deserves it's own separate story. Initial planning leads me to believe that it will probably only be six or seven chapters, but I won't know for sure. As for when, best guess is a week or three; it will depend on how well I can manage my time.**

 **So much of my writing process happens in my head. I take notes when I feel like I need to, but for the most part it stays up in my head to rattle around. Sometimes an idea comes while I'm at work, other times I'll be sitting at my desk and go into a kind of half doze half trance to play out scenarios. Why am I telling you this, you might ask? I dunno, it seemed like a thing to share. Besides, I'm sure you guys love these little notes at the end, and I haven't left one in a while.**

 **Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and comments, and thanks for reading! :)**


	16. Ch 14 - Round One, Flight!

It turns out, when you want to learn something that the Fae do without thinking, it's next to impossible. I'd gone through the books in my tiny library. For the hell of it, I even tried my mother's gem to see if there were any paths she'd taken. Her voice told me how to get to the edge of the Dreamlands, but it seemed that her travels were little more than that. There were mentions of a few realms she had visited, including one comprised entirely of shrimp. I suppose if this whole Winter Knight slash Wizard slash Warden (Jesus, the titles were starting to pile up) didn't work out, I could always go trawling for the fish market. Hey, don't give me that crap – there's good money in shrimping.

Not a word about Whisperwalking, though.

I asked Bonnie if she'd known anything about it, and come up bupkus. She did, however, have more info on Remnant. As it turns out, Remnant was one of several hundred dream worlds spawned by a pair of cursed Persian twins. I'd asked how she knew that, and her reply was shocking.

"Mom knew about it." Whoa. I knew that Bonnie knew everything that I did up until I'd spawned her – I refuse to call it giving birth. I hadn't realized that Lasciel's shadow would pass on knowledge as well. She was gone, burned out of my brain. It was important information, but we had more pressing concerns.

"What about these twins? What happened to them?" I knew it probably wasn't going to be helpful, but I was curious.

"They were spirited away by parties unknown. They were dangerous." Bonnie had stopped leafing through her comic book and was staring at me keenly.

"How so?" This was fascinating. It might be a waste of time, but for the moment I couldn't figure out the next step. Hopefully Karrin and Yang were having better luck.

"Their curse was eternal slumber. The power of it gave rise to the realms in the Dreamlands." She paused for dramatic effect. "The reason they were dangerous was because they could pull people seemingly at random _into_ those dreams or nightmares." That made my blood run cold; sure, for someone like me that could be less of a problem, but for your average person? Yikes.

"When were they around?" Again, not really helpful, but it might be later. Lack of knowledge can kill.

"The last recorded mention of Urr-šunatu and Mu-šuttu was near the last century of the Sassanid Empire, 500-ish A.D." The green eyelights flickered to the left before returning to meet my gaze. "Couldn't Molly teach you how to 'Whisper walk'?" I knew that look.

"Maybe so, but Molly works on her own schedule. She knows I need to talk to her." I really didn't want to summon her, like, _ever_. We weren't in full panic mode yet. That sort of thing was like lighting a big stick of dynamite. It was also rude as hell, former apprentice or not. "Interesting as the history lesson was, I don't think we're getting anywhere with that." Something about it was bothering me, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I mulled it over in silence for a few minutes and gave it up as unnecessary information.

I decided maybe it was a good time to check my answering service. I doubted there would be anything – I hadn't had calls for cases since my office building had burned (thank you oh so much for that, Red Court dweebs), but I hadn't exactly been hurting for or needed much money since raiding Hades' vault. I dialed the number for the answering service and sat on hold waiting for an operator. Tim was quite happy to put me through. There were two messages.

The first, surprising enough, was from Fix. He left a terse few sentences about having found Remnant to be a Dreamland full of ignorant Changelings. Aha! New news on how it was that Yang was so easy to soulgaze. They were human, after all – albeit weird and powerful. Proto-human, maybe? Nah, that sounded terrible. He apologized for not being able to find more and ended the message.

The second call was hair-raising. The voice sounded like nails on chalkboard, and yet it attempted to sound _affable._

"Oh Harry Dresden, my, my, what a fine mess Blondie has made. We really should talk, face to face. Grab a pen, oh _wizard._ Go on, I'll wait right here." The way he spoke my chosen profession grated like nothing I'd ever heard before, causing me to jerk the receiver away from my ear. Still, I grabbed the pen and pad sitting next to the phone. He – it? It rattled off an address in an abandoned industrial park. "Tell Blondie I said hello, and leave Little Red at home." The message ended with a short beep and I hung up the phone a little harder than I needed to.

It wasn't the first time bad guys had called me out, but this rated almost as high as the message the Naagloshi had left when it took Thomas. I stared hard at the address for several minutes. I gave myself a shake and stumped back over to the work table. By the time I crossed the fifteen or twenty feet, frost had started to form on my hands. I had been drawing on the Mantle without even realizing it from the moment I started listening to the message. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists, making a concentrated effort to calm down and let it go.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked. When I didn't answer, she said, "Dad?" I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

"Yeah, Bonnie, I'm just… rattled. I need to leave you here for now..." She moaned at that. "Hey, look, that call was from the new big bad. I get the feeling that we're about to meet up with Mister Sinister, and I don't want you in the line of fire."

"Oh. Right. Well, uhm… Be careful, okay? Mister Sinister is no joke." I chuckled and took out some fresh writing pads and ball point pens.

"I need you to do me a favor while I'm gone, though, okay?"

I did my best not to push the gas pedal all the way down to the floor as I drove through downtown Chicago. The engine would occasionally sputter and shimmy, but otherwise it held up. I had a pretty good idea of who the anonymous caller had been, but I wanted Yang to hear it for herself. No way was I going anywhere near that place on my own.

It took me less than half an hour to get to the site of my former boarding house. I had mixed feelings about the place. On the one hand, it felt like my friends had done it to honor my 'memory'. The gesture was somewhat soured by the fact that Johnny Marcone had footed the bill. Technically it was his place, now – even if he used it only very occasionally.

Gravel crunched under the tires as I pulled into the empty space next to Murphy's car. Good, they were still here. I hope they had better news than I had come up with. If not, it was going to be a very long day. I stepped up to the door and rapped on it with my staff. A moment later, Sven answered and gave me a nod as he pulled the door all the way open.

"Dresden," he greeted me the same as he always had. Usually I tried to make conversation with the man. Granted, it was like trying to have dialogue with a mountain, but he usually had something to rumble out. I opted out this time.

"Where are they?" I asked. He hooked a thumb at the stairway and closed the door behind us.

"They're up in the training room. Her new friend is spunky." Call me crazy, but he actually sounded disappointed that he wasn't up there. I took the stairs two at a time and all but sprinted down the hallway. I barreled through the double doors just in time to watch Karrin take a flying leap at Yang. I barely had time to register joy at seeing her back to fighting form before realizing how big that jump was.

The arc was at least thirty feet – almost the whole length of the room. It wasn't a straight shot either; she was most of the way to the ceiling, twenty five or thirty feet up. My head tracked her through the air. She had one of those bamboo practice swords leveled at Yang, who stood in a defensive posture. They met with a loud thwack, sword impacting on one of Yang's bracers. Murphy hung in the air, held up by the sword and seemingly defying gravity. Yang yelled, "Now, push!" Murphy grunted and bunched up her left shoulder. I heard the crackling and snapping of the bamboo reeds as the practice sword glowed briefly before snapping like a twig. Both women went tumbling and rolling across the floor.

Yang recovered instantly, pushing down with both hands and cartwheeling into a ready position. Karrin, on the other hand, did not. She looked a little dazed as she came to a stop on her side. The bottom half of the sword was still clutched in her hands as she fumbled her way to a sitting position. "That's great, Murphy!" Yang dropped her stance and walked over to where Karrin was still sitting, trying to shake off the shock of impact. "It's too bad your training equipment isn't more durable. Otherwise I think you've got the jump down." She offered Karrin a hand up. "I'm sure if you had a weapon that could handle aura, your push would be a good start."

They hadn't noticed me yet. It was around three in the afternoon when I left Molly's apartment. They'd only been here seven hours _maybe_. That was one hell of a turnaround time. I golf-clapped as Karrin got her feet under her and stood with Yang's help. They both turned to face me as one.

"Harry!" Yang exclaimed. "How long have you been standing there?" They crossed the intervening space between us. While they walked, I noticed that several Einherjaren had been watching from one end of the room.

"Long enough to see Karrin re-create my favorite Kung Fu movie scene," Karrin grinned despite herself. "How's it feel to get back on the horse?" I was thrilled for her and didn't want to spoil the mood. The big bad could damned well wait for a few minutes. Murphy tilted her head back and inhaled deeply.

"It's amazing, Harry. I used to wonder what it must be like, for you, with the magic. Now I don't think I have to imagine anymore." I knew just where she was coming from. For all the gritty parts of my life – especially of late – it was as much a part of what kept me going as the people in my life. Murphy frowned down at the broken practice sword. "Yang is right though. This thing felt like a toothpick the whole time." Yang shook her head ruefully.

"I tried to tell you it wouldn't take much. You should have just used the real thing." It was Murphy's turn to shake her head.

"No way, Yang. _You_ might think you're invincible, but I'm just learning how to do this stuff. You're a good trainer, but I'd rather play it safe." Yang shook her hands in front of her chest.

"I'm just doing for you what dad did for me. Besides, we probably don't have time for safe." She looked up at me. "Your daughter is a real sweet kid, Harry." I looked back and forth between the two blondes. It didn't take long to put it together.

"Molly," I said. Karrin dipped her head and pointed a finger at my chest.

"Yeah, she's taking Maggie to see a Disney movie." I had completely forgotten about that. Nervous as I sometimes was about having all things Sidhe anywhere near my daughter, I trusted Molly to keep her safe. "Mouse likes Yang – he may have peeled a layer of skin off her hand." Well there you go. If ever there was a sound endorsement of a person, it was Mouse slobber. Yang grinned.

"That's not a dog, Murphy, that's a bear in disguise." Murphy shrugged, I laughed. If only Yang knew the truth about Mouse. Hell's bells, maybe she did. "So Molly," Yang said, giving me a serious look. "She's sort-of your boss, but used to be your apprentice? She had some… interesting things to say." She didn't quite suppress a shiver. "I'm really sorry, Harry." Murphy lightly smacked Yang on the arm with the back of her hand.

"Hey, it's not your fault. You didn't know." I may not have the missing conversation, but I had a pretty good idea. Still, you'd think they would let me in on it. _Women_ ; always assuming the guy knows what's going on _._

"Esplainy?" I asked. Murphy turned to hand the broken practice sword to Skaldi, who had fetched the other half and moved to join us. He took it from her and gave her a fist bump before rejoining he fellows.

"The Grimm, how did she put it? Spawn in response to Aura." Oh. So that was what the spirit had meant. I cringed internally, but Karrin was right. Yang opened her mouth to speak, but I held up a finger.

"Yang, if you apologize again, I'm going to box your ears." She closed her mouth with an audible click of teeth. "Karrin is right: You – _we_ had no idea that would happen. We'll deal with it." She didn't look convinced. I made a loose fist and bounced it off her shoulder a couple of times. "Don't worry, Sparky. The trade-off is worth it as long as we stay on top of things. You gave us back one of our best fighters." Murphy's cheeks reddened. I pretended not to see.

"Ulsharavas had some to say, and while she wasn't as direct as Molly-" which was a breath of fresh air for once "that was something she alluded to. What's more, it affects what's going on here and back on Remnant." I looked around for a moment. The Einherjar were good men, but they _were_ being paid for with Marcone's money. "Let's go to a room with a phone. You need to hear something."

"Oh?" they both asked in unison.

"Yeah, the game has changed. You're not gonna like it."

 **A/N - Sorry that I didn't post a chapter last week. For those of you that missed it, I have a companion story that I've been tinkering with. The Twelve Swords of Penny Polendina is set in the same AU as Dust and Motes, and focuses on what comes after Penny's fight with Pyrrha. The first chapter is some infill and as good of a description of said fight as I could muster. It's a little bit of a departure from the way I normally write, but we should be back to your regularly scheduled magical snark** **over here.** **Enjoy!**

 **A/N/N - It's come to my attention that Azryth posted this fic up on tvtropes - thank you for that! :.)  
**


	17. Ch 15 - Worst Conference Ever

I debated what to do first once we got into the conference room. The recording wasn't going anywhere, and we needed to trade info.

"So who wants to go first?" I asked. Murphy shrugged and held up a hand at me. "Alright, so first bit of news; I think we got two sets of the same story. Ulsharavas said that awakening Murphy's soul set some things in motion for both worlds. She conveniently didn't say what, other than someone called 'The Vagabond' would have to act sooner than anticipated." I was pretty sure that was who had left the message, but I wanted to get everything else out of the way first. "Does that moniker sound familiar, Yang?" she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"General Ironwood called Torchwick by that name." She set her jaw. "It _can't_ be him: He's _dead_." I guess we'd find out in a minute or five.

"Alright, we'll move on then. The spirit had a couple of prices for her cooperation." See how I phrased that? It would totally keep my face from getting pushed in, right? "One was easy enough, and I took care of it. It bought us a Sherpa, so we've got a guide to get you home, Yang." I paused for a moment.

"What's the other price, Harry?" Murphy's bullshit meter must be going off. Dammit.

"She said that we'd have to deal with things here. After that, all three of us have to go to Remnant." Murphy didn't exactly glare at me, but I could tell she wasn't happy. "I'm sorry, Karrin – I knew you weren't going to like it," I started. She interrupted me.

"You're right, I don't like it. I might be back in the game, but I don't know how useful I'm going to be."

"I seem to recall you being plenty useful even before you got cool new superpowers, Karrin."

"Yeah, untested and barely trained cool new superpowers." I splayed my hands. "I'll saddle up, you know that. I just hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew. Yang makes their situation sound like a full-fledged war. Do we really have that kind of time?" I shook my head.

"We really don't, but we're going to have to make time." I paused, debating how much to say. "You remember Cat Sith?" Karrin's face lost all expression. We'd talked carefully about what went down last year. It was kind of hard to forget that sort of thing. "Yeah, it's baaack." Yang put up a hand.

"What are you talking about? What's this Cat Sith? Do we have to fight it?" Stars and stones, I hoped not. Even being Mab's new Knight, I'd barely come out of that fight with my spine still attached.

"Probably not, Sparky. The point is that he was infected with something very ugly. It's one of those things I mentioned that we wizards don't discuss openly." The lack of understanding vanished from her face.

"Oh, you mean the things from," she paused, trying to think of the right word.

"Out There," I offered. "The reason we don't talk about it is because it has a variety of ways to listen in on conversations. We're behind a threshold, and I still don't want to talk about it – not in detail, anyway." It was probably safe enough here, but there was no such thing as too careful when it came to the Adversary.

"And when you say it's back, you mean it's here?"

"Ulsharavas said that the Adversary is on Remnant." That caused Karrin to lean forward, and Yang tensed.

"That's not good." Yang's tone was worried. I didn't blame her – I'd actually met the thing and didn't want an encore. Where's the damned Fat Lady already?

"No, it most definitely is not. I can deal with this – it's Mab's charge to keep them out, and by extension my job." Murphy cut a hand flat above the table.

"That's bullshit, Dresden. You don't ask us to hat up and then take all the hard work for yourself." Her voice had dropped into that quiet 'I'm about to kick your ass' tone. "You said last time you barely beat the goddamn thing," Yang gasped and put her hands over her ears, which Murphy ignored. "So don't pull that crap on us now." She crossed her arms and that was final as far as she was concerned. Yang muttered something about wasted A-material.

"Right, sorry." She didn't look satisfied, but said nothing. "Next thing, I have to learn something called 'Whisperwalking', but I need Molly for that." Yang got over her blasphemy shock and spoke up.

"Oh! That was the other thing she…" She trailed off and looked over at Murphy, who shrugged a shoulder and motioned for her to continue. "Molly said she literally couldn't tell you anything." Fuck. I was counting on that, and she had to pull this faerie mystique crap now? "She did say that you had everything you needed." I scowled. What the hell was that supposed to mean? I thought about it for a minute. It wasn't like Molly to hang me out to dry. My brain stumbled for a second, and then I remembered who I was dealing with.

"What did she say, Yang? What were her exact words?" She squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate.

"I literally can't tell him anything right now. He's got everything he needs – he just has to look deeper." Oh. Brain-stumble. OH.

"That _bitch!_ " Yang looked at me as if I'd grown horns.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your boss, Harry."

"What? Oh, not Molly – The Queen," I waved my hand at her.

"Harry," Murphy drew out my name, resignation coloring her voice. "I'm really starting to fucking hate her, you know?"

"Yeah, get in line. It's pretty long, and we aren't even in cursing distance." Yang looked back and forth between us.

"I feel like such an outsider. What are you two talking about?" Karrin looked at me, eyebrow raised and arms still crossed.

"Powerful Sidhe, like the Queens, can lay a geas – a command on their subjects that cannot be broken. It's a crappy thing to do, in my opinion. I'd bet you my last dollar that Mab is forcing Molly to stay out of this. Again."

"Well that seems stupid. If there's a war on, why handicap your allies like that?" I grunted. She wasn't wrong, and it was more complicated than that at the same time.

"You never can be sure, especially not with the Queens. Sometimes it's for pure spite, or because there's a bigger picture only they can see. Other times it's a subtle game – or a dangerous one, like the thing we were just talking about."

"This doesn't sound like a game, Harry." Nope, it never does. That didn't ever stop the courts from having their fun, though.

"The Sidhe aren't like us. They take their games very seriously, and usually play for blood. The thing about Molly is that she's really good at them. The Sidhe are wicked smart, but they can be outwitted if you know how." I very much doubted that Mab had accidentally left an opening. It smelled like one of her special games. She'd stack the deck against you, but there would always be one or two ways to win. What was crappy about it was that she usually got something out of it either way. "There must have been a loophole for Molly to be able to add that last bit. Now I just have to figure out what it is."

"Can Molly do this geas thing too?" Yang asked. Huh? "She did this thing when we walked in the room – she said my name, and I couldn't move. Everything got all… heavy? It's hard to explain." Hoo boy – I knew exactly what that was. I could only hope that it hadn't been as bad as my own first-hand experience had been.

"What?" Murphy asked. "I didn't know she could do that!" Neither did I.

"When did she let you go?" Yang thought about it for a second.

"Just after Maggie and Mouse left," Murphy supplied. Yang nodded her head in agreement.

"That's Molly for you. She doesn't spend much time alone with Maggie, but when she does, she takes absolutely no chances." That gave me warm fuzzies, but it also illustrated just how much she had changed in her brief time as Winter Lady. Padawan Molls would never have considered doing something like that. The Rag Lady might have, but the Winter Lady? If she'd grown that powerful, I worried what she might be like in ten years, or fifty. Yang took it like a champ, though.

"I get it; she doesn't know me, and she was looking out for your kid. How does it work, though? That could come in handy."

"Everything has a True Name, even people. The short version is that people with power – wizards and Sidhe, but there are others – can speak a True Name with intent and power, which can give them control over the subject. It happened to me once, and it wasn't even my full name. It sucked. A lot." They both looked at me, dying to know. I rolled my eyes. "Let's just say if you ever meet a dragon, be polite, even if they're acting like a huge ass-clown." Their eyes got wide, but Karrin was trying – and failing – to hide a smirk. "You might want to avoid giving your full name to people in the future."

"But I didn't," she said.

"Say what?" I asked. That wasn't how it worked.

"I didn't give her my name. I never got the chance." Well that was… different. They'd never met, so how did Molly manage that? You have to hear a person's True Name from their own lips.

"That's troubling. As far as I know, you have to say it yourself for someone like us before we can use it like that." We were getting way off topic here. We had some time, but I knew we needed every minute. "I don't think we have anything to worry about, but if it happens again, I'll be watching for it. Let's get back to what's in front of us for now. Karrin, did you turn anything up?" She pulled out a manila folder from somewhere behind her.

"I know you've got something else, but it's probably way better than this." She held up the folder and then slid it across the table at me. I picked it up and leafed through the pages inside. Police reports, eyewitness accounts, all to do with muggings over the last several days. Victims were seemingly random. The weird part was what was stolen.

"They took blood? What the hell?" Murphy shrugged, but pointed at it.

"Keep reading," she said. I finished going through it, but I didn't get what she was trying to bring to my attention. I closed the file and held it up.

"What am I supposed to be seeing here?"

"It's what isn't there. No follow-ups." Oh. "Every victim is missing – some unofficially, but the initial cases, nobody can find them. It's like they just up and vanished. No personal belongings missing, vehicles, credit-card use or large cash transfers, nothing." I whistled. There were at least two dozen people on that list. "Could it be some kind of magic voodoo bs?" I chewed on my lip.

"I'd have to try tracking them down, or at least go to the last place they'd been seen. It's weird – and disturbing. Can't rule it out, though. What about the skirmishes?" Murphy shook her head in disgust.

"Almost all of them were with Marcone's people. There was a small-time gang, but they made a big skedaddle." She shrugged. "You said you wanted to avoid talking to Marcone or his people, so that's all we've really turned up." I'd forgotten how frustrating doing actual investigation could be. I blew out a breath; it looked like I'd be doing some tracking spells. "There's nothing on the local Paranet, and Ramirez hadn't heard anything either. He said to tell you he'd try to come if you needed him, but he's got his hands full with the Fomor right now."

"What else is there?" Karrin asked. "I know you like to save the best for last, Harry." Well, there was no arguing with that. I pointed at the phone and rolled my chair as far away as I could.

"Can you call my answering service? You'll want to put the second message on speaker." Karrin dialed the number and put in the codes I gave her. When the message played, Yang's eyes widened and her hands gripped the edge of the table. By the time the recording had finished, her fingers had sunk into the wood. Murphy gave the phone a dark look.

" _That_ sounds charming." Yeah, it was about as charming as a pit of snakes in the Temple of Doom.

"Is it him, Sparky?" I asked.

"How? How can he be back?" The wood of the table actually squealed from the pressure of her fingers digging in. She was frightened and angry. I knew just how she felt, but we didn't have time for this.

"Get ahold of yourself, Yang." My voice was a tad harsher than I'd meant for it to be – even Karrin cringed a little. It did get her attention, though. She let go of the table and winced at the divots her fingers had left behind.

"How can you be so calm?" I felt bad for the kid – she was probably used to her enemies staying dead.

"You get numb to resurrected bad guys after the second or third one."

"I hate your world so much right now." I sympathized with her. Terra Firma could be a mean old lady when she wanted to.

 **A/N - Sorry this took so long to get out - it suffered many rewrites before I was happy with it. Anyway, we're nearing the end of Act I - three or four chapters. Thanks for sticking with it!**


	18. Ch 16 - Shamus, Schmamus

I'd only had time to try tracking down a couple of the mugging victims before we were supposed to meet with Torchwick. It hadn't panned out. I'd picked two people from the list who had no next of kin to notify in order to keep things simple. The three of us had gone to the first home after Karrin checked in with Rawlins to make sure it would be clear to poke around. Officially, Rawlins couldn't sanction it, but he and Karrin went way back. As long as we left things the way we found them, nobody was likely to kick up a fuss.

Yang had said very little after leaving the castle, which didn't necessarily worry me. She'd just had an ugly surprise dropped in her lap. She offered to keep a lookout when we went into the first house, and Karrin stayed with her while I went in. Looking through the one-story didn't yield much. My first clue was the fact that there wasn't a threshold. The place looked too well-kept and personally decorated; there should have been one. Even with someone who'd recently died, there should have been at least a residual barrier – there wasn't one at all. That didn't bode well for the occupant, Lisa Mellis. She lived alone, had no pets.

I spent very little time inside, just long enough to find the bathroom. It held most of what you would expect of a twenty-seven year old single woman, including a hairbrush. I plucked a few hairs and proceeded with a tracking spell on the spot. Even if Lisa was dead, it should point me to her body. Only it didn't. The silver pendulum circled, but didn't give me a direction. Even that told me something. One of two things was possible: Either she was dead and the body had been completely destroyed, or she wasn't on this plane of existence anymore. I canceled the spell and left the house.

"Any luck?" Karrin asked. I could only shake my head.

"There's no threshold; she's probably dead." Karrin accepted it – we'd both seen enough cases like this to know how it could end up. Yang, on the other hand, had trouble with it.

"So do we just give up?" I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course we don't, Sparky, but there's only so much we can do here." I didn't like it either, but we only had time for one more. "Besides, this all started happening when your wannabe gangster showed up. If we don't find answers here, maybe we can pummel some out of him, eh?" Yang's eyes narrowed and a wicked grin spread across her face.

"Now you're talkin'." Karrin glanced at her watch and tapped it suggestively.

"We've only got a couple of hours left. For the record, I'll say it again; this so-called meeting has trap written all over it." What were the odds that it wasn't? Yeah, right, because my life is just so full of good luck. We all moved to the car.

"Of course it is. That's why we have backup." I'd called Toot back to scout along with some of his kernels. I was a little worried about sending him into a complete unknown, but I'd told him not to take any chances. He hadn't been able to find much about Remnant beyond what I'd already learned. Toot's wounded pride had vanished at the mere mention of pizza, though. Karrin had also insisted putting the Einherjar on standby, just in case. I hoped we wouldn't need them, but the aforementioned luck issues made that unlikely.

The next stop was at an apartment belonging to a man named Darius Gray. Getting in had proved a little harder than Lisa's house; the building was secured. I say only a little, because Yang decided it was time she proved useful. She had wanted us to wait out front while she went around to the back, but Karrin insisted on going with her. Probably to make sure she didn't break anything or just blow a hole in the back wall.

I waited a few minutes before Karrin came back, shaking her head in disbelief.

"So, what'd she do?" Karrin made a disgusted sound and rolled her eyes.

"She jumped up to the roof," she said, as if it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever said. Not even close, by the way. I craned my neck and counted – seven floors – and let out a low whistle. Even with the Mantle, I wasn't even able to clear that. Don't give me that. Wouldn't you test your limits?

"What, you didn't want to join her?" Karrin snorted.

"Just because I have 'cool new superpowers' doesn't mean I should be using them in broad daylight." I guess she had a point. "Besides, I'm not so sure I could make that jump."

"Well, maybe not without more training. Speaking of, have you got a plan for that?" She gave me a level glance. Well, as level as you can get from a foot and a half down.

"Actually, yes, we do. Yang gave me some exercises to work on my focus. I'm doing one right now, in fact." I blinked. She didn't look all glowy. "You wanna see?" One glib nod later, she'd hefted me up in her arms (ack!) like I weighed less than a dictionary – one of those fancy expensive ones, mind you. Her eyes shone. "You just wait until we get some alone time. I told you that you might be the one screaming." Holy mother of stars and stones, I hadn't thought about that. We hadn't exactly explored much of that aspect of our relationship yet, what with her injuries and all. A sudden embarrassing thought occurred to me.

"Tell me she didn't." Karrin let out a dark chuckle.

"Oh that was one of the _first_ things she mentioned. She was rather graphic." I felt heat creep up my neck and face go all flush. That was the exact moment that Yang reappeared, opening the door and leaning outside.

"Wow, Harry, I didn't think you could turn that shade of red. Do you two, uh, need a minute?" I wiggled out of Karrin's grasp, sputtering and waving my arms. No, no, no, I was _not_ having this conversation with a teenage girl. "I can totally go back inside and come back in a minute," she taunted.

"No, that's q-quite unnecessary," I stammered and cleared my throat. Yang tilted her head and looked at me askew.

"That's not what I hear, Harry."

"Yang!" She laughed and pushed the door the rest of the way open. Karrin, at least, wasn't having fun at my expense. I ignored the wink she and Yang exchanged. "Come on, you two, let's go before someone wonders what we're all doing out here." I bypassed the elevator and went to the stairwell, while the two troublemakers fell in behind me. Thick as thieves, those two.

Darius' apartment was on the top floor, naturally. Counting apartment numbers as I went, I was dismayed to find a woman with a set of keys just locking up the apartment we wanted to get into. She was an older woman, dark hair shot with streaks of gray. She wore jeans and a black polo shirt, and had a worried look on her thin face. This could complicate things, but something told me that I could turn it to my advantage if I played it right. She turned to face us as I fished out one of my business cards.

"Oh, hello," she said. I held out the card, and she took it. She pulled out a pair of reading glasses and looked at it, "Mister Dresden… Wizard? Is that some kind of gimmick?"

"Hi, and sort of, Miss?" I replied, holding out my hand. She took it in a gentle grasp and shook it.

"Emily Rosen," she said. Yang gasped, but it was barely audible. "I'm the building superintendent. Are you here about Darius?"

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"He's one of my best tenants. Did somebody hire you to find him?" I shook my head and waved my arm back at Yang and Karrin.

"I've got a couple of ladies here looking to get into the business and no cases to work right now. CPD sometimes lets me do my own investigations pro-bono." She took them in with a quick look, pausing only briefly on Yang – if she found the girl's appearance unusual, she hid it well. "Do you mind if we go in and have a look around?" Emily's worried look returned.

"Do you think you can find him? He was such a good boy, even with his recent trouble." She pulled her keys back out and unlocked the door.

"I hope so. Do you mind answering some questions for Karrin, here?" I looked over at Karrin, who nodded.

"Sure, Mr. Dresden, anything I can do to help. You won't be taking anything from the apartment, will you?"

"That won't be necessary. Thanks." She opened the door and stayed behind with Karrin while Yang and I went inside. "Yang, have a look around, but try not to touch anything, okay?" She gave me a thumbs up. I handed her a rubber glove from the pair I pulled out of my duster pocket. "Use this if you absolutely have to." She took it and held it out for a second, then shrugged and nodded.

"You notice we didn't get all wonky like we did at Andi and Butters' place last night?" I had noticed; things weren't looking good for our mugging victims.

"Yeah, it's the same here as it was at Lisa's place. I get the feeling we'd find all the single missing peoples' homes just like these two if we had time." She bowed her head and moved to the hallway on the left. I took in the apartment; it was _really_ nice. There was lots of open space, and apart from a pile of mail on a coffee table, the living room was neat and tidy.

I moved toward the back, passing an equally spotless kitchen. The master bedroom was a little more like I'd expect a bachelor's place. Clothes strewn about, sports gear leaned against walls, pictures jammed into the dresser mirror. Darius and friends or colleagues, I assumed. There seemed to be the same five or six people in most of them – at Wrigley Field, out on a boat, that sort of thing. The bathroom also looked more like what I would have expected, but no hairbrush or anything remotely usable for a tracking spell. I was about to go through dresser drawers when Yang called out.

"Harry, I think I found something you might want to look at!" She didn't sound excited, but there was an urgency to it. I abandoned the room and went to find her, which was at the end of the hallway. She stood in a doorway, her back to me. I made sure my footsteps were heavy enough for her to hear as I walked up behind her.

"What is it, Sparky?" She flinched, despite my noisy approach. She pointed at the open door without saying a word. I brushed past her and peered into the room, which was dimly lit by partially drawn curtains. I flipped on the light with the glove, and jerked back at what I saw. It was mostly – save for a table holding sketch books and painting supplies. The far wall had been painted with a mural straight out of a horror movie. The center piece was a giant snarling wolf-man with a red-lined bone mask, claws outstretched. The red eyes glowed, and bony spurs jutted out from the major joints. The background held dozens of smaller versions of the same monster, tearing at people and making a bloody mess of everything. The sky was an ugly red, and the ground was dotted with murky pools, out of which more monsters crawled. "Yuck. I guess we know what was on his mind." Yang hadn't moved.

"Those are Beowulves. Why would somebody from your world be painting them on his wall?" Good question.

"I wonder, how long after he got robbed did this start?" I didn't think we were going to find an answer and started to suggest we have a look at the sketchbooks when Karrin joined us. She stared at the mural for a minute, not saying anything.

"Is that one of the monsters you were telling me about, Yang?"

"Yeah. It's a good effort, but nothing beats seeing the real thing in person." Karrin pushed past us and moved to stand in front of it. The ceiling was ten feet up, and the Beowulf, even crouched as it was, reached nearly to the seam.

"Is this to scale?" I hadn't thought about that. I've seen bigger monsters – Elder Gruff came to mind with a shudder.

"I've seen bigger, but not by much. Most of the young ones tend to be a little bigger than Harry." Blessing, I guess? I really wasn't looking forward to a day-trip to Remnant. I gave myself a shake.

"Karrin, did you get anything useful from Miss Rosen?" She shrugged.

"Not much. Some noise complaints from the neighbors a couple of days before he went missing. That's when she found out about the mugging. He said he was having nightmares about it." She flicked her gaze up at the painting. "This is some real Shutter Island stuff, Harry. What about you, anything?"

"It's the same as the last place – no threshold. I couldn't find anything usable for a tracking spell, but I doubt it'd be any different from the last place." If they were all dead, I hoped it had been quick. I opened the top sketchbook and flipped through a few pages. The guy had real talent – which wasn't saying a lot from me: I did okay with stick figures. Yang and Murphy had both come to either side of me to look at the drawings. Some were pencil sketches, while others were full color illustrations. They were mostly of people, but once in a while armored knights and dragons would show up. There weren't any more clues though.

"Guys, we need to get going," Karrin murmured. She was right; this wasn't a complete bust, but it didn't help us much. Investigating anything is like that more often than not. I closed the book and we left the apartment in a subdued mood. The little black cloud seemed to follow us all the way to the industrial district; there wasn't much discussion.

The address we arrived at turned out to be an abandoned factory. We parked down the street from the four-story structure, which was nestled between similar buildings. There was a wide, tall sliding door that yawned into a partially lit production floor. I didn't see any Einherjar in evidence, but Karrin had assured me that they would be lying in wait, ready for action. I called out to Toot, who descended from the sky, barely making a sound.

"My Lord," he whispered with a quick salute, "the guard is in place and we have been watching. None have come or gone since we started."

"Excellent work, Major General," I saluted back. "What about the inside?"

"It's mostly one big room. There are boxes with different markings on them near the back." He drew the symbols in the air with his finger, which trailed a glowing outline. One was a wolf's head with three diagonal slashes behind it.

"White Fang," Yang growled. Murphy made a sound from the back of her throat. I hadn't heard the name yet.

"Who are they?" Yang started to answer, but Karrin stalled her to save time.

"They're terrorists from her world, responsible for attacking her school." Ah. Toot had drawn a second shape. This one was more like a box drawn in three dimensions. There were three lines coming off different corners, ending in small circles. Yang drew in a sharp breath upon seeing it.

"What is it, Sparky?" She pointed at it.

"That. That is the mark of Doctor Merlot." When the name got no reaction, she elaborated. "He's a crazy scientist who experiments on Grimm. He mutates them into bigger, nastier versions." Oh great. So we've got uber-monsters and now mutant monsters too? The Mantle urgently suggested that I just level the building then and there. The urge was so strong I had to close my eyes and take a couple of breaths.

"Is there anyone inside, Toot?" He shrugged.

"Not that we could see, my lord." Yeah, this _totally_ wasn't a trap. I also had some land in the Everglades for sale. I checked over my gear, pulled out my blasting rod, and gripped my staff.

"Alright, let's do this."


	19. Ch 17 - It's About To Get Harry In Here

As it turns out, walking into a trap proved to be as nerve-wracking as you might think. My senses were on high alert, and it was all I could do not to jerk my head at every little sound. Karrin had geared up with a flak vest and her P-90 was cinched up against her shoulder. She'd also opted to strap a heavy broadsword to her back and stood to my left. Yang had simply expanded her bracers and assumed the position to my right. We walked in through the doorway and were greeted by the sight of a typical abandoned factory. The floor was poured concrete, interspersed with heavy steel girders that stretched up into darkened rafters. There was evidence of now-removed machinery, here and there – pipes stuck up from the concrete, and machinery that had been removed at some point had left indentations. Soot-streaked windows let some light in, which highlighted dust hanging in the air.

We made our way toward the back of the building. Open crates were strewn about here and there, each marked with one of the pair of symbols Toot had drawn. As we neared an open pit, I could hear a slow bubbling sound. When we got to the edge, the walls looked roughly hewn all the way down past the foundation and into the dirt, almost two stories deep. It was a bit bigger than a tennis-court. There were three rows of large glass tanks every ten feet or so across the width if the floor. They were filled with a green fluid that swirled with tendrils of inky dark red. Just looking at them gave me an intense feeling of wrong-ness: The hackles on my neck stood on end, and Yang growled. I could hear her knuckles crackle and pop, and I was right there with her. If I'd gripped my staff any harder, I'd have probably made paper.

None of us said anything for a moment as we took it in. There were machines and monitors on the far wall. They were far enough away that my anti-technology field wasn't causing problems, at least. A mess of cables trailed from a darkened doorway and hung down over the lip to feed the equipment below. I couldn't really make sense of what was on the screens though. Lots of text and graphics that I'm sure was important information to _someone._

"What are we looking at, Yang?" She growled again.

"This is exactly like the island of Doctor Merlot." Seriously? I looked over at Karrin, who rolled her eyes when she saw me raise an eyebrow. "I'm not sure what the goop is, but that was how he changed the Grimm." She paused. "This is bad. There are thirty of those tanks down there, and that's assuming there's only one baddie per." My eyes narrowed at the prospect of fighting that many. I'd done it before, but it had been utter chaos every time. Still, it was no Chichen Itza we were looking at - then again, I'd had a whole posse for that. Yang seemed unperturbed by it; if the video of Ruby's 'test' was anything to judge by, this was a cakewalk for her by comparison. That didn't mean I couldn't thin out the herd before they even started grazing, though.

"Well, I can take care of that in short order," I said, raising my blasting rod. I started to draw in the energy for a large explosion when a voice echoed around us.

"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you." It wasn't so much the sudden out-of-nowhere voice that stopped me as it was the tone of it. The monitors changed to a mosaic view of a man – if you could call him that. He wore a longish white dress jacket and black pants. A bowler hat sat jauntily on his head, orange locks of hair peeking out from underneath to hang down one side of his face. His skin was bone white and thick, dark veins spider-webbed across his temple, cheek, and neck. The same side of his face covered by hair also sported a pale mask. The eyes were the most startling part: One glowed malevolent green, while the other glared a baleful red from behind the mask. I think the most disturbing part was the hat - it just seemed so out of place with everything else he had going on. Monster in a suit? Sure, I've seen that game-show. Monster in a bowler hat? That was just taking it too far. He held up a clawed finger and was shaking it lazily.

"This is a lot more extensive than it looks," he said, waving a hand at the tanks. "We had to patch into this city's filthy gas lines to get the whole thing working. In other words, fire baaaad." He was probably lying, but I couldn't take the chance. If his mooks – maybe I should be calling them droogies – had illegally spliced into the city's gas, there was no telling how far a chain reaction explosion might go. He didn't have to sound so damned smug about it, though. I let my arm fall and opened my mouth to speak, but Yang jumped in before I could utter a word.

"How? How did you survive?" Her eyebrows were drawn down over wide eyes, and her voice shook with barely controlled anger. He tilted his head back and shook it; it was hard to tell, but he was probably rolling his eyes. "Ruby saw you get eaten by a Grimm!"

"Ahh, Blondie, that's a longer tale than you're going to have time for, but suffice it to say I've gotten good at cheating death." He paused and looked at something over his shoulder. "Speaking of which, I wanted to thank you before you get rather… occupied."

"Oh? Why's that, Clockwork Orange?" I took a little satisfaction at his momentary confusion. I guess he hadn't been here long enough to catch up on pop culture. He pointed at Yang and Murphy.

"You two – we'd never have gotten this little venture off the ground without your help, ladies. It's given me… options." A bad guy spoiled for choices? The good news just kept getting better.

"Does that including kidnapping a bunch of random people?" I shot back. He made guttural noises that took a moment for me to register as chuckling.

"Me?" He sounded mockingly offended. "I didn't take a single person, Wizard. They all came to me of their own free will." I very much doubted that. It amazed me how often the bad guys sold the same crap.

"So where are they, then, huh? This doesn't exactly look like the five star spa package." I waved my staff down at the tanks.

"It's funny you should mention that; the mud baths are really the best part. They'll come out feeling brand new." His voice dipped into inhumanly deep tones at those last two words. I looked at the spaces between the tanks as a sinking feeling grew in my stomach.

"Bullshit! I don't buy it. Nobody signs up to be buried alive." Okay, well maybe stage magicians and some actors did, but they were after the glory (and the money).

"Ah, but I can assure you they did _exactly_ that. See for yourself." The screens changed to a panoramic view of the pit. Several people were shown to be digging with shovels and bare hands. The scene came with audio, and it was eerily quiet but for the digging and bubbling of the tanks. Nobody spoke, or laughed or cried – they just dug. It fast-forwarded to a point where the people were about armpit deep and then went back to normal speed. I watched in horror as these people began dragging armfuls of dirt in on themselves. When they filled the holes, they just sort of sank in underneath the earth.

"What. The. Fuck." Yang put it succinctly. There just were no good words in the English language to properly describe it. The screen returned to the freakish mosaic monster-man.

"My, what colorful language for a little sprite!" He leered in her general direction. She responded with a blistering string of curses that would have made old salt sailors blush, but they only served to elicit more ugly mirth from Torchwick. She started to move forward, and I thrust my staff across her path.

"Don't! He's goading you." Her head swiveled in my direction, her eyes gleaming a fiery red. "I mean it, Yang – cool it. If you set off an explosion down there, you might take out half the industrial complex along with us."

"Is this gas really so dangerous?" She grated out.

"Yes, Yang, it is. That's a deathtrap," I said, waving my staff at the pit again. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, and I could swear the ground around our feet shook with tremors. She took a deep breath and let it out slow before stepping back, but her eyes were still an angry red. We were going to have to talk about that later. My own thoughts were dark and seething, the Mantle practically had me bursting at the seams with hostility – having her along could prove disastrous if neither of us could keep it together. I squared my shoulders and turned my attention back to the assclown.

"So what's this all for, then? You looking to carve out a little corner for yourself here on Earth?" He had another thing coming if he actually thought that was going to happen on my watch.

"Oh, that's a _fabulous_ idea – let me just tell you the whole plan." He rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder again.

"It was worth a try, anyway," Karrin murmured.

"I'd love to stick around and chat, but it looks like time has run out sooner than I'd planned. Don't worry, though, I left you some… entertainment." Jesus, could this guy get any more cliché? "Who knows? You might even survive this little test run and we can talk again. Good luck!" The monitors went blank, and a high pitched whistling began echoing through the factory. I ground my teeth and did my best to ignore it, but it was really loud. It went on for better than a minute and then cut off abruptly.

"Well, this is probably gonna suck," Yang said.

"Thank you, captain obvious," I retorted. I could hear a rumbling sound coming from the pit. The tanks began dumping their contents onto the bare dirt of the spaces between. The smell was indescribable; raw sewage would have been a welcome relief from the stench that assaulted our noses. I watched the ground churn, and then a bulge emerged from one. Goo slid off to reveal a claw, which found purchase in more solid ground. As the creature rose out of the sludge, others began following suit from the numerous pools. They were almost like the murals in Darius' apartment, but for a couple of differences.

For one thing, they weren't quite so big – silver lining I guess. The other major difference was the bony protrusions and plates were all a blood red – even the teeth. They looked more like the monsters in Ruby's test. They milled about and didn't seem to have noticed us so far. Karrin's jaw dropped as she stared at the monsters in transfixed horror. I wasn't far behind her; these _things_ used to be people. They weren't anymore.

"Holy Mary Mother of God," she whispered. I slowly leaned over to Yang and whispered in her ear.

"Is there anything we should know?"

"They look very young," she replied in a hushed tone. "Beowolves work best in packs, but they're disorganized without an Alpha." Murphy had sidled over without taking her aim off of them. "Hit them hard and fast, knock them down if you can."

"There are an _awful_ lot of them down there, Harry. I count twenty-eight." Her tone was even, and she sounded nervous, but ready. I sure as hell didn't want to drop into the pit; too much could go wrong with that plan. I'd have to trust Marcone's hired muscle to keep them from scattering.

"We can't risk letting them escape into the city. We need a perimeter outside. Call the Vikings." She nodded and keyed a throat mic, then glared at me in frustration. I gave her an apologetic shrug. Magic was great, but not so much for her fancy radio. She took several slow steps back and began relaying orders in a quiet voice. It was that exact moment that things completely went sideways on us. A bulge formed in a pool of slime, centered in the midst of the pack, and a stupendously _huge_ paw shot out. It was bigger than the Blue Beetle, the claws half as long as I was tall. As the newcomer emerged from the pool, it just kept rising. When it clomped onto solid ground, the entire warehouse shook. Elder Gruff - the twenty foot version - was bigger, but only by a little. The Mantle started considering strategies, some of which made me sweat just a little.

I gave myself a hard mental shake. Dammit, Dresden, get a grip! Tiny had been bigger than this oversized fur rug, and I'd beaten the Gruff. It wouldn't stay down there, and I didn't need any goddamned fire to get it done. I had an experienced huntress to my left and a seasoned fighter on my right. I looked over at Yang, who was staring at it with shock, and, dare I say it, childish glee.

"I take it you've nev-" my next words were drowned out in a bowel-liquefying roar that I swear on my last spell could be heard from the _Moon_. The beast vibrated so hard that the remaining sludge spattered off it in all directions. There wasn't time to talk. For the second time that year, I let the Mantle in. Icy calm settled over my mind as the smaller Beowolves all howled and leapt at our side of the pit. This must be the alpha – which I dubbed Itsy in a small corner of my mind – took one bouncing step and practically flew out of the hole. It overshot, but tried to swipe at us with massive claws. Murphy rolled and unloaded her P90. Yang juked just out of range. I ducked and hurled my body at one of Itsy's hind legs, causing it to lose the center of gravity.

Yang wasted no time and jumped explosively, evading its grasp and managing to get a solid hold on one flailing elbow. I winced at her application of fire dust, but we were a good ten feet away from the edge of the pit. The horror show had come to us, so it was safe. Probably. She kicked off and launched sideways midair to slam shoulder-first into its head, knocking it further off balance. They landed with a jarring impact that rattled what few intact windows the building had. She latched onto the side of the Itsy's head with an agility that I admired. Then she jackhammered her arm, firing round after round into its ear. That only seemed to piss it off more as it bellowed and tried to grab her. I lost track of them after that because the small-fries were on us and the Mantle didn't give a damn. The first pair leapt at me and all I could think was hate-tear-rip-kill. And that's what I did.

My staff and blasting rod were cast aside as foot long claws of ice shot out from my fingers and rammed through the chest of one, while tearing the other's arm off at the elbow. I heard a sword being hastily drawn and quickly dismissed it as my mate tending to her own prey. The things we would do after made background-me want to pale, blanch, and blush all at once. The fighting continued; I hesitate to call it that because it was more like a slaughter.

The armless Grimm had advanced in spite of any pain it might have felt. I froze its legs to the ground with a snarl and jumped up directly in front of it. My knee rocketed to meet its gaping jaws so hard that its entire head snapped backward at a right angle. Just like flipping open a box, I thought with glee. Before it could even fall, I dodged behind it and gave the remaining arm a twisting tug, tearing the beast and a large chunk of ice free. I hurled the lot into three more onrushing Beowolves and charged forward.

A panicked yell from Yang was followed by a deafening roar from Itsy. She sailed in from the side, her arms and legs flailing as if she'd been thrown like a rag doll. She bowled over the trio and clambered to her feet, laying about her with punches and elbow strikes. She didn't even bother firing her shotguns; the monsters were easily dispatched, and they began wisping into smoke. Whatever had happened to the victims, they didn't leave anything behind.

Karrin had carved a small pile of body parts that were starting to dissolve in wispy tendrils of black smoke. Anything that got within three feet of her paid for it in appendages. She was surrounded by half a dozen of the creatures, and they were circling her, looking for an advantage. When I looked around, none of the others were in evidence; most likely they'd scattered out of the building. Part of me hoped the Einherjar got them all. The rest of me dearly wished there would be more to kill, to suffer for their audacious invasion of my city. I wanted to go to Karrin, but then I heard a rumbling growl.

Itsy had dropped to all fours and was edging back and forth. It gave a weird whuffing howl, and the remaining monsters surrounding Karrin jerked upright as one and loped away. She whirled about, expecting some kind of trick. When her back was turned, Itsy growled, its eyes boring into her back, muscles twitching. She froze for a moment, and then slowly turned to face it.

"I think he's in loooove," Yang said.

"I've dated hairier," Karrin replied. "Come on, furball! I haven't got all goddamned night!" She let out a yell and jumped at it with enough force to send cracks spider webbing into the concrete beneath her. Itsy dug in its claws and leaped to meet her. They crashed into one another with a sound not unlike an explosion. I would have expected Itsy to barrel her over, but they slammed into each other like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Her sword had been leveled at its chest and wound up buried to the hilt. Itsy threw back its head and howled in fury. Murphy dropped down and landed in a crouch as the Grimm tried to pluck at the offending splinter.

"Yang!" she shouted. The blonde crazy-person rushed in from the side and smashed both fists into the base of a crimson bone spur jutting out from Itsy's ankle joint. It lifted its leg with a yowl, and Murphy decided to partake of the insanity and jumped up, throwing a roundhouse kick at the raised limb.

I could see what they were trying to do, and I gathered my will. I flung out my hand and shouted, "Forzare!" A blade of force rushed through the air and careened into the splayed leg, which sent Itsy into a swaying lurch. The beast started to fall, and one of the massive paws flailed in a vain effort to regain its balance – right at me. I dove out of the way, but one of the claws clipped my leg. I was lucky I'd taken a glancing blow from the desk-sized claw – any closer and I'd probably need a peg leg. I went spinning and managed to land more or less flat, and I was up and moving an instant later.

I'd taken two lurching steps when a flash of brown and white rolled past and stopped between me and the tangle of growling furry death. The blur resolved into a tiny girl. When I say tiny, I mean to say her head was level with my stomach. She wore a white half jacket with pink highlights, brown pants, and knee-high white boots. Her hair looked like something Molly might have sported in her pre-Winter Lady days: One side was bubble gum pink with streaks of white, and the other side was a dark brown. Her eyes, much like Yang's, were too large and vibrant. One was pink, and the other was brown. She also carried a closed umbrella, which she leaned against one shoulder. Her other hand was shaking a finger as she smiled and shook her head.

I tried to sidestep and she mirrored me. I didn't have time for this crap. I leaned down and reached to shove her away. She snapped her umbrella left and right, striking my forearms with enough force to rattle my teeth and send my arms flying out wide. I didn't even stop to think about lifting my boot to put it through her face. She twirled around it and rolled under me. I lost track of her long enough to see that Yang and Murphy still had Itsy on the ground. I saw stars as something clocked me in the back of the head hard enough to bend me over. I felt something hook my elbow and spin me around while putting my arm up my back.

Enough. Of. This. Shit.

Ice started to coat my upper body and the girl's hold on me slipped. I caught a leg and started to cover it in ice. I was rewarded with a gasp, and my vision finally cleared just in time to see a dainty hand fling something at my neck. Something cold and hard slapped against it and wrapped around, then the Mantle was gone. I dropped like a stone, and it took a moment for my brain to catch up to the fact that I'd just been hit with cold iron. I tried to scrabble backward and claw at whatever she'd gotten around my neck. I was roughly turned over. The nameless bubblegum disaster girl smiled at me again, and then smashed her heel down into my face. My vision tunneled, but I lifted my head in defiance. A shocked look crossed her face, and her little mouth dropped open. She did it again, and that was it: Lights out, Dresden.

 **A/N - Thank you for being so patient, everyone! I know the holidays are probably crazy for you as much as they were for me, but now that they're over, I can get back to writing again. I want to thank LydiaRogue and Rapidfyrez for their numerous conversations and editing over the last month.**

 **As we move into 2017, I've decided to begin working on original fiction. Some of you have asked about ways to help, and I have an idea about that. I've got a patron account set up and ready to go for anyone interested. The plan for right now is to offer a new original fiction chapter each month. My profile on Fictionpress has a proto-chapter called Artificial Outlaw, if you want to see what you're getting into. I will also attempt to give insight to my writing process in short artcles as a sort of how-to. Future plans might include varying levels of editing for other writers, expanding into YT reaction videos and/or reviews of tv shows and movies, and maybe let's-play videos (seriously, I have a huge list of games on Steam). Feel free to let me know what you think via private message about any of this.**

 **Amidst all these plans, I want to stress that I will continue to write fanfiction here as long as I have stories to tell. Fear not!  
**

 **Happy New Year, everyone!**


	20. Ch 18 - A Fine Talk

I woke up to the sound of a click-flick-flicking of a Zippo lighter. My head felt like it had been smashed and put back together by a very angry four-year-old. I was sitting in a chair of some kind. It would have been comfortable, but for the fact that, one, my head was throbbing where the psycho girl had left boot marks. Fact two was made evident when I groaned and tried to put my poor noggin in my hands, I couldn't. My arms were bound behind my back with handcuffs – so much for the Mantle. I was groggily trying to fumble my fingers around when that hair-raising voice spoke.

"Ohhh good, you're awake!" The voice was tinny and scratchy, like it came from a speaker that was too close to me. Somehow that was even more unnerving. I dared to open my eyes and was rewarded with a lance of pain as harsh light flooded through them directly into my protesting brain. "I was beginning to worry Neo had been too rough with you." The blurry room came into focus after I blinked a few times.

"You know me, hard-headed as they come." As retorts go, it wasn't my best. Then again, neither was I at the moment. The room I was in looked like an old vault of some kind. The walls were covered in those lock-boxes that needed two keys to open. Apart from the chair I sat in and a couple of floodlights, the room held nothing else. Well, except me. The wall in front of me looked newer, and had a heavy glass picture window set in it. Roman Torchwick stood on the other side of it, and was idly leaning on his cane. Behind him a row of monitors showed different angles of the fight I'd apparently just been dragged away from. Murphy and Yang were still duking it out with Itsy, which seemed to be dragging one of its legs and moving sluggishly.

"That's right, Harry Dresden. It cost a lot to have this conversation, so pay attention." I turned my glare back to him. It wasn't the first time I'd been captured so a bad guy could yammer at me. I doubted this would be any more productive, but I wasn't going anywhere. I decided to take a page out of Fix's book.

"You wanna talk? Fine, talk." He nodded and I leaned back into the chair.

"Straight to the point – I like it." He tapped his cane on the ground and seemed to consider where to begin. "I've heard quite a lot about you, wizard. If half the rats in this city are to be believed, you're a towering inferno of death and destruction." I stared at him. Butters had tried to explain that to me when I was doing my ghost impersonation. I hadn't realized that was how some people saw me. It was not a flattering thought to have. "On the other hand, if what the other half have to say about you is true, this is probably a wasted conversation. Still, everyone says you at least listen, so I'm going to lay it out for you." I suppose he had a point. I'd been on the short end of the nobody's-listening-to-me stick enough times that I gave everyone a chance if they at least tried to talk. I mean, it was probably a waste of time with this… guy, but I wasn't exactly going anywhere.

"I'm sure Blondie's told you all about our little pocket of Hell. I spent most of my life on the wrong side of things - whatever it took to survive, I did it. Make a little money, have some fun, sure, but at the end of the day, it was always about choices that kept us alive." I hoped he wasn't going to be that villain who told me his whole terrible life's story. That would just be sad.

"Yeah? How'd that work out for you?"

He lifted his hand and drummed the claws against his mask. "This is where my choices have led me. I'm still alive, and my new look certainly has… benefits. I made a deal, something I hear you know a bit about."

I scowled. Something told me that he hadn't sacrificed his humanity to save anyone but himself. "What's your point?" I growled.

"My point, Mr. Dresden, is that I've let my choices be dictated by others, and I've tried both sides of the good versus bad coin. I had to make a hefty bargain to stay in the land of the living, but everyone runs out of luck eventually. It's all 'bullshit', as you say. I was about ready to throw in the towel, hang up my hat so to speak… until yesterday."

I looked at him in disbelief, "So monster farming was your first thought? I gotta tell you, Roman, that sounds pretty cliché."

Torchwick smirked, "An apt description if ever I heard one! Listen, Dresden, those 'innocent people'? Monsters, all of them. Each one had some nasty dirt on them; all I did was bring what was inside to the surface. Believe me, I was doing you people a favor."

I stared at him hard. Was he actually trying to sell the vigilante angle? "When I first came here, I knew I stumbled into a real shitshow. I can smell the evil in your world, courtesy of Genesis, and let me say, this Earth is full of evils worse than me." Well, there was no denying that. I'd sure as hell seen my fair share of it, and it only seemed like things were getting worse as the world spun on.

"So, what? You're the punisher then, cleansing the world of evil wherever you go?" I laughed, "Sorry if I don't take you at your word."

Roman shook his head and waggled his free hand back and forth.

"Don't put words in my mouth, Dresden; this isn't about cleaning up your dreary little city to make it more bearable for me to stay in. That's not going to happen." But it already had. What was he getting at? "Part of the deal was for me to find resources here to use back home. But again, that's one of those decisions someone else made. Now that your girls have opened up the door, I've got a better idea. Thing is, I'm a little low on manpower. Which is where you come in."" Here it comes…

"What could you possibly need me for?"

"What's that old Earth saying? Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven? The Grimm on Remnant are being corrupted, if you can imagine such a thing. I want to take control." I couldn't help it. I laughed in his face.

"You people are all the same. You want to 'talk', but in the end it's always a sales pitch. Join up, step aside, get this, do that. What do I look like to you, a goddamn magical vending machine?" I was so overwhelmed with incredulity that my vision was dimming at the edges.

"Are you suggesting that you could be paid for your help? If so, I can certainly understand that." I laughed weakly this time. He just didn't get it.

"No, I can't be bought." The corners of his mouth turned down in an exaggerated frown.

"That's a shame, really. We could have accomplished so much together." I'd finished exploring what I could with my hands, and nothing useful was in reach – even my shield bracelet was gone. I tried to pull in the energy for a spell, probably my last. The fight on the monitors looked like it was coming to a close. Murphy was hacking at Itsy's neck while Yang kept it from batting Karrin aside. At that moment, the girl who'd beat me like a red-headed stepchild came into view. She paused and gave me a sunny smile as if she hadn't just given me a concussion, then reached out to tug on his sleeve. He looked around at her with a grin.

"Ah, Neo, is it done?" She gave him an altogether different kind of smile than the one I'd gotten, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent!" He patted her on the shoulder and turned back to me, and then strode forward. "Well, it looks like your friends will be along any minute now, so I'll leave you with one last thought. Salem isn't like anything you've ever faced before, and she's the one controlling the Grimm. If she has her way, she won't stop with Remnant. Imagine that little sports event you just left times a hundred thousand or more, here on Earth. You would be much better off with me on your side than leaving me to fend for myself". He reached inside his jacket and brought out a device that looked like Yang's scroll. He set it in the frame, leaned up against the glass. "When you get to Remnant, call us if you change your mind." He reached below the frame and pushed something. A timer replaced the camera views of the factory, counting down from five minutes. "I wouldn't stick around here too long, if I were you, though."

"Wait, that's it? You're just going to let us go?" Neo stepped forward and swung my shield bracelet around a couple of times before dropping it on the frame, next to the scroll.

"I tried to tell you there was more to this than you thought. Think it over. You're sitting on the key, by the way." He turned and linked arms with Neo, then sauntered off as I stared in open-mouthed shock. I jumped in surprise as part of the wall next to the window hissed emitted a loud clank, swinging open partway. I shook my aching head and squirmed to feel around for the key, which was exactly where he'd said. It took me a moment to get free, and I stood up cautiously as I rubbed my wrists. My brain kicked in and hands reached up to my neck. I felt a wide band of metal mesh but couldn't get my fingers underneath it. Screw it; I didn't need the Mantle to run away. I went to the wall and heaved the door open.

I paused at the window long enough to snatch up my bracelet and the scroll, both of which I shoved in a pocket of my duster. It didn't take me long to puzzle out which way to go and I stumbled my way up a flight of stairs. The came up to a small room with an open doorway, and I came out and found myself staring directly into the business end of a P-90. Karrin lowered it in shock, and Yang drew up beside her, holding my staff and blasting rod.

"Harry! What happened? We were-"

"No time! Get this damned thing off my neck – we need to haul ass out of here." She frowned, but reached up and dug her smaller fingers between the band and my windpipe, nearly choking me in the process. When she had a good grip on it, she concentrated and gave a tug. It came apart with a weird tearing sound and she stepped back. The Mantle slipped back into me with frosty reassurance, and I pulled enough into me to clear my head.

"Boom?" She asked.

"Yeah, we've got about two minutes." I grabbed each of them by an arm and spun them around. I then gave them both an urgent shove and shouted, "Run!" We all took off like a shot and emerged from the short hallway, back into the factory room. Yang led us around the pit and made a beeline for the entrance. She and Karrin both started to outpace me, so I pulled more Winter and used it to catch up. If we weren't running for our lives, I'd have made a race of it. We got outside and when they slowed, I shoved them again.

"Keep going!" I had no idea what sort of explosion to expect. Knowing Roman it would probably be big and flashy. I dug out my shield bracelet and slapped it on my wrist while Karrin veered away and shouted a warning into her radio. We skidded to a halt behind her car and she rejoined us. I put a half dome shield around us and hoped that whatever had been planned, I'd have enough energy to hold it back. We watched the building as my mental countdown estimated the time left.

"Ten seconds." Those seconds came and went. Five more passed before anyone spoke.

"Well, that was anticli-" Karrin started, but then there were dozens of small flashes in three lines across the face of the factory, followed by a loud crump. The building collapsed in on itself in a thunderous peal of screaming metal and a plume of dust. When the din dropped into silence, Karrin looked at me with her serious eyes.

"Harry?" I winced.

"Yes, Karrin?" I hunched my shoulders.

"What do you have against buildings?"

"Yeah, Harry, they're the bomb!" Yang said with a grin. "Eh? Ehh?" Karrin looked like she didn't want to laugh, but she did anyway.

"I am so not drunk enough for this job."

 **A/N - Welcome back gang! I've got a couple of bits for you this time. First and foremost, I want to thank each and every one of you who comes to read my little story, and to those that leave me reviews or send me pm's. I also have a few numbers for those of you curious about that sort of thing - since I published this a year ago, it's received over 33k visitors (spread across 41 countries!) and 41k views! And though technically I didn't cross the 40k word count boundary until chapter 17 (these author notes don't count), this is still the single longest running piece of fiction I've written. It makes me immensely happy to see that so many people have enjoyed it, and as Act I comes to a close, I look forward to carrying on the tale and providing more entertainment.**

 **I would like to give special thanks to LydiaRogue and Rapidfyre for their many edits, suggestions, and discussions - Thanks Guys! :)**

 **The second piece of information I have to share is that I've solidified plans to take my skills and apply them to an original piece of fiction. I have a P atr e on page ready to go once the first chapter of Artificial Outlaw is ready to post, which should be finished by the end of the month. If you add a slash and my username to the end of the website address, you can find me there. The page is blank for now, but it's already prepped and just waiting to be turned on. (and if you want to follow me on twtter, I'll be using both in tandem).**

 **I want to again stress that I will never do this with any of the fanfiction I write - I will keep updating them here for as long as there is an interest.**


	21. Ch 19 - End of Act I

Yang couldn't help but feel mystified by how strange Earth was compared to home. It was soon discovered that Torchwick's little demolition had not only been planned, but it was entirely legitimate – at least as far as the city's authorities were concerned. Permits had been filed for and approved, which Karrin had learned of from her former partner at a place called Special Investigations. The brawler had also endured an uncomfortable, lengthy grilling by Harry. She had no idea who Salem was, but did not like the idea that someone was in control of the Grimm. She could only tell him the little that she knew about Roman and his hench-girl, Neo. Her explanation had given the wizard no answers, and he'd given up in frustration.

They had gone back to Karrin's place and spent the rest of the evening talking about what came next: The journey back to Remnant. _If_ Harry could figure out how to get them there. They batted ideas back and forth behind the meaning of Molly's cryptic hint. Try as they might, none of them could come up with anything. When they gave it up, it hadn't been too late, so Harry asked Yang to stay with Murphy while he went to 'wheel and deal' for the information he needed. The stubborn man had insisted that he was fine to drive, but Karrin had matter-of-factly informed him that the giant goose egg on his head said he was taking a cab, and that was that.

They were sitting in the living room; Karrin took the time to strip down her rifle, which she described as a 'bull-pup' automatic. "So Yang," she said as she slid the barrel housing off, "what should we know about Remnant?"

Yang pondered the question for a moment as she cleaned one of the barrels of Ember Celica with a stiff bristly brush. "I'm sure there's all kind of stuff. It's kind of hard to think where to start. Did you have anything in mind?"

Karrin finished taking apart the boxy little rifle, and Yang was surprised that there was so little to it – the thing almost seemed like a toy. "So let me shock you with how predictable this is going to sound, but how about laws? Vale's a kingdom, right? With a proper king and queen?" Yang laughed, but it was half-hearted. When she didn't answer right away, Murphy looked up from her equipment. "Is something wrong, Yang?"

She stared down at her hands and the weapon in them. Ember Celica had been stripped down to expose the inner gearworks, but the mecha-shift was largely self-cleaning and didn't need much attention. Ruby had been so clever, even when they were both very young. It was killing her that they'd been apart for so long. "I just…" Yang began, not looking up from her idle hands for a moment as she tried to put what she was feeling into words. "I'm really worried. What if Harry can't figure out this thing? I mean, don't get me wrong, you guys have been great and all." She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Karrin put down her things and scooted closer so she could put an arm around her shoulder. "You're homesick, and worried that you'll be stuck in unfamiliar territory." Yang nodded mutely, still unable to look Murphy in the eye. "I won't bs you, hon. It could go that way." A single tear slipped from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek before dropping to her arm with a quiet splat. "But in all the time I've known Harry Dresden, he's rarely let me down, and then never without good reason." The tawny-haired woman squeezed her hand and gave Yang a little shake. "And hey, if you do wind up having to stay, it isn't like you can't make the best of it while he keeps trying. Heck, you could join an ultimate fighter circuit to pass the time; you'd clean house."

Yang laughed weakly at that and dashed the wetness from her face. "I don't know, something tells me Harry wouldn't approve." She and Karrin shared a laugh.

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that. You'd have me in your corner, and he'd probably fuss about it, but give up in the end." Yang tried to imagine Harry as a towel boy and couldn't shake the silliness of it away. Murphy tried to get it out of her, but the more she tried, the harder Yang laughed. She broke into her own hearty laughter once Yang managed to gasp out bits and pieces. They eventually subsided, and Karrin flopped back against the couch. "That's more like it. Worry will only make old women of us if we let it." She grasped her wrist in one hand and stretched her arms over her head and looked at her watch. "You know what? Harry said he'd probably be gone all day. Let's finish cleaning up and get outta here, go do something fun."

Yang perked up at that suggestion. "Oh yeah? What does someone do for fun in Chicago?"

Murphy stood and moved over to the desk on the far wall. "So many things, Yang Xiao Long. I think we'll start at the Navy Pier." She pulled out a pad and pen, scribbling on it for a moment.

"Boats?" she asked, doubtfully. She supposed that _could_ be fun, but that wouldn't have been her first choice. Then she remembered that there weren't any – scratch that, there _probably_ weren't any water-bound Grimm.

"You'll see, trust me," she replied. She stood up and returned to her rifle, and began to make short work of it with a toothbrush and polishing cloth.

"Okay, if you say so. It's your town, Karrin." She did her best to sound upbeat, and to put her worries aside. They finished in companionable silence over the next few minutes, and left shortly after. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all. 

**A/N - At last, the end of the first act! I know it's quite a bit shorter, but let me set you at ease. I've got the next three chapters fairly well-planned out, and over the course of the month, I will attempt to post one chapter a week. I'd like to thank all of you who've stuck with me so far. All of the discussion, reviews, and words of encouragement have been uplifting and kept me going when pretty much everything else in life seemed to just be awful. Now that I have a better job back in the tech sector again, I will do my very best to keep telling the stories I have going. It's only fair - you guys took care of me, so I gotta return the favor as best I can, yeah? I'd also like to thank RapidFyrez and LydiaRogue again for all their help and patience when I ranted or didn't make sense (my old-people logic is weird, as Rapid would say). I've also decided that until the new job stabilizes, I'll have to hang on to my old one for a while longer. Since this is necessary to make sure my bills are paid, that means I'll need to put my plans for Artificial Outlaw on hold for a few weeks at the very least. So until next time, see you! :)**


	22. Ch 20 - Is It Cold In Here?

I was not having a good day. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make sense of Molly's hint. I'd gone through my meager library twice, and turned up nothing. Even if I'd had my old collection of books, though, I doubt my luck would have been any better. At the moment I was seriously considering trading favors with one of the Fae. It wasn't a great idea – in fact, it was a terrible idea. No way was I going to Mab. Knowing her, I'd be chasing some impossible rabbit and wind up half dead or worse by the end of it. Lea might do, but that was a crap shoot at best. The last time I traded with her, she'd only wanted a story, but I was willing to bet that fast-traveling across the Nevernever would be worth so little. It probably wasn't an easy skill to master, either.

My frustration didn't come from the fact that I wasn't getting anywhere so much as it did my concern for Yang. Every day she was here, eight days would pass for her back home. If we didn't get her back to Remnant soon, she might lose weeks _._ The girl had been here two days, and so much had happened. I could only imagine how much worse it would be for her friends and family. I had no way of even knowing if my theory about her being projected was right or not. For all I knew, nobody she cared about even knew where she was.

All of this was overshadowed by the fact that her world sounded a whole hell of a lot more chaotic than Earth (if you can imagine that). They were in the middle of a war to protect their kingdom from fanatics and monsters. From everything Yang had described, it also sounded like there was a plot afoot to turn the four kingdoms against one another. I had no idea who this 'Salem' was, and neither had Yang, but Roman probably wasn't lying. He was a hard one to pin down. Was he really angling to take control? It seemed unthinkable, but I had to wonder if he'd be better than this mystery woman. Putting a guy like Roman Torchwick in control of anything sounded like a disaster of epic proportions just _waiting_ to happen. The saying, 'the devil you know' was even worse than it normally implied.

There was also the Nemesis factor to consider. Everything I'd been exposed to from the Outsider suggested that Torchwick wasn't overtaken – not yet anyway. I had no way to be sure other than if he had been; I probably wouldn't be here to ponder such heavy thoughts at all. And what was this Genesis he referred to? Was this a person, or was it just the process done to convert him into part-Grimm? I tell you, there are days when I hate my job. Just once I'd like it when I didn't have to figure out every damned thing on my own, or at least to not second-guess myself every five or ten minutes. Or fight ginormous monsters that want to smear me across the ground. Maybe that shrimp trawling idea wasn't such a bad plan after all…

I jerked when the phone rang. I'd made a few phone calls on the off chance that some of my more reasonable contacts might be able to help. I strode away from my workbench to the kitchen area and picked up the receiver. "Dresden," I answered.

"Hoss, you rang?" Ebenezar McCoy's rich voice carried over the line. I was glad to hear it. It had been months since we'd last spoken, though it had seemed like a lot longer.

"Yes sir, I did. How are things?" I could have dived right into why I'd called, and truth be told, he'd probably have taken it in stride. That didn't mean a little courtesy wasn't in order. It was also part of a code we'd established. His response would tell me which way to proceed.

"Ah, well, you know how it is Hoss, politics and arguments, which I guess amounts to the same thing." Good, he was somewhere we could talk. "What's up?"

I'd debated all morning how much to say in case he'd been able to get back to me, so I chanced the fact that the Svartalves might be listening in. "I had a visitor drop in on me a couple of days ago. Long story short, I need to learn how to Whisperwalk and have no idea where to start."

He didn't answer for a moment, but when he did, his tone was one of mixed consternation and curiosity. "What on Earth would you need that for, boy? That's a Fae ability, and only good for travel in the…" He stopped, as if realizing what it was I was asking for. "I know you're the Winter Knight now, but she usually keeps her enforcer for affairs in the mortal realm. What have you gotten yourself mixed up in, Hoss?"

I didn't want to say anything direct, so I used our code to clue him in. "The canary's fluttering about." Translation: The adversary was involved. I admit it wasn't the most creative thing I'd come up with, but he'd been genial enough about it. The phrase got his attention, though.

"And is Sylvester on the prowl?" Confirmation requested.

"Probably so," I answered, meaning affirmative, good intel. "I've got to get this kid back home and look into this before things get any more out of hand. I also sort of had to bargain for info, and that was the price."

He cleared his throat, as if not really wanting to hear the answer to his next question, but asked anyway. "Where's this guest of yours from?"

"A place called Remnant, one of the Dreamlands on the far edge." He let out a low whistle. "Have you heard of it, sir?" Grasping at straws was something I could do. At this point I was a damned expert at it.

"I've read about it – never actually been, though. Average time differential, monsters called Grimm?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's the place. Anything you can tell me would be helpful, sir."

He sucked air past his teeth, which meant that he wasn't alone anymore. "Wish I could help you out, but all I can tell you is that what you're after needs a firm destination in mind." Ulsharavas would be providing that, at least I was fairly certain anyway. "Rashid might be able to give you something, but I haven't heard from him in over a week. I can try getting a message to him, but if you've got other options, I'd say pursue them first." Yeah, I wasn't surprised by that. Wizard Rashid _could_ be helpful, though his definition of the word was questionable at best. He had his hands full with his duties as Gatekeeper on the front line. "At least the time difference will work in your favor. Can't have you bein' gone all year, after all."

I laughed at that. "Something tells me a two week vacation in Hell would be more fun, sir."

He joined me with a hearty chuckle of his own. "Sorry I couldn't be more help. I'll let you get back to trawling. Give me a ring when you get back, we'll go get some spaghetti." Trawling meant 'watch your ass' and spaghetti meant we'd need to convene the Gray Council as soon as I was able to join them. "Good luck, Hoss," he said, quietly.

"Thank you, sir. Take care." I hung up the phone and leaned my head against the wall next to it. I knew it was a long shot, but it was still good to hear the old man's voice. I rattled a breath between my lips and pushed away from the wall. Bonnie was muttering over her latest comic books, which I'd been able to pick up before I came to the Svartalf compound. Part of me had hoped that Molly would show up, but I wasn't optimistic about that.

The coffee pot gurgled, and I made a cup, and then decided for the tenth or twelfth time that I still didn't want to just flat out summon Molly and demand some freakin' answers. My patience was being sorely tested, though, so it might not last. It might piss her off, but if I didn't turn up anything soon-ish, I might have to risk it.

I grabbed a few of the notebooks that Bonnie had filled up instead – she had used up all ten of them. A trip to the nearest office supply store had been necessary to get her more. The reason for the necessary interruption was what she'd been putting in them: Everything that the shadow of Lasciel had known. It wasn't complete, though, and not because Bonnie had run out of paper. She'd warned me that parts of it were fragmented. I suppose it was probably due to the fact that the shadow of the Fallen had rewired my brain. She'd done it to help me overcome an Outsider attack, and it had been her final act. It had also been the catalyst that brought Bonnie into existence. I was also fairly certain that while it appeared impressive, it didn't hold a candle to what the actual Fallen knew.

I flipped through pages of Bonnie's neat script and spared a thought of pride at how far she'd come in so short a time. She'd organized it for my by color of the covers. Red included spells and rituals. As I glanced through the first one, I recognized quite a few things, most of which were either very similar to things I knew of, peppered with variations. The second book held other things I'd either thought impractical, impossible, or downright insane. Come to think of it, Bob had made suggestions that seemed perfectly rational to _him_ but were just nuts to me. I put it aside with the intention of adding it to the pile books that Ebenezar had donated.

The third red notebook had large warnings on the first page. Words like Extremely Dangerous and Not Meant For Mortals were featured among Sanskrit and what looked like Hebrew. After the second page I realized that most of these were flat out violations of the Seven Laws. If the White Council knew I had this, I'd probably be a head shorter before I could say lickety-split. I started to tear out the pages so I could burn them in the fireplace. Then I changed my mind and burned the whole thing instead. Some things you just don't screw around with.

"Bonnie," I called across the room, "you remember that list of bad things we don't repeat?"

"Yeah?" she toned, pausing in the middle of turning a colorful page. "You want me to lock them out?" We'd established that certain things, like the Word of Kemmeler and the Darkhallow shouldn't ever be shared with anyone, and to keep them locked up tight. I had learned from my mistake with Bob, so rather than have her cut them out, I'd had her bury them where nobody could get to them.

"The third red notebook – is there anything in it that would have bent or skirted the Seven Laws instead of breaking them outright?"

She didn't even pause to consider before answering, "Four, out of seventy nine." It wasn't like she couldn't replicate them for me to look at some other time.

"Alright, file that quartet under 'morally ambiguous' and close the rest."

"Okay!" she hummed, turning back to her comic book. I might miss Bob once in a while, but Bonnie was _far_ more agreeable. "Was there anything useful in the other two reds?"

I shrugged. "Well, there were some interesting things in the second batch, but nothing that will help me out with my current puzzle, I think." I sat back down in the comfy armchair and leafed through the green covered books next, which held summonings. Some I recognized, and quite a few I didn't. Demons, water spirits, and even a demigod or two. The most obscure one was Hasamelis. What caught my attention was that he was the Mesopotamian God of Travelers. I leaned in closer, thinking maybe I'd finally found something. Then I saw what the price was: Service for a year and a day. I flopped back against the seat, closed my eyes, and gritted my teeth. I was already bound to Mab – I wasn't willing to add another leash to my neck. I was pretty sure she wouldn't allow it to happen anyway. You'd think that she'd want me to have the ability, but who knew what went through her mind. I turned the last few pages, not really paying attention. Then I got to the last two pages.

The first of those held information about my Godmother, Lea. I stared at it in growing irritation. As faerie godmothers go, she was a nightmare. If she helped you at all, there was a better than fair chance that it would be both entertaining for her and dangerous for anyone dumb enough to accept it. I speak from experience, _lots_ of it. And yet, here I was, weighing the pros and cons of repeating my stupidity. I decided I wasn't quite that far gone just yet and flipped to the last page.

The last page pissed me off so much more than anything I thought possibly could or would have. Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness was the final entry – there was even had a sketch, and those eyes stared up at me, full of mocking cruelty. I glared at the image for a full minute, stewing in my own frustration. I slapped the notebook closed and then tossed it back on the pile. "Nope! That's it, I'm done with this game of footsie!" I shouted to no one in particular as I stood up. It would occur to me later that what I was about to do was more than a little petty and spiteful, but at that moment I simply did not care.

I stumped over to the circle and took a few moments to calm myself. If Bonnie had any opinion, she kept them to herself, though I did notice her muttering had stopped. I took several deep breaths and ignored the voice of reason, because screw that guy right now – he was getting me nowhere. I gathered my will and touched the edge of the braided metal, snapping up a circle and filling the air with the smell of ozone.

I crossed my arms and called out, focusing my will and the Mantle into the words. "Molly, Lady of Winter, I summon thee! Come, Molly, Breath of Frost, I summon thee! Hearken unto me, Molly, Keeper of Cold Winds, thrice I bid, I SUMMON THEE!" The words rang as if I were standing on a frozen expanse, mist pouring from my mouth, my power flooding the circle. When the last echo faded, there was a pallid silence for three heartbeats. A layer of ice rapidly formed on the stone slabs, stopping just short of the inner side of the summoning circle, and growing in thickness. It happened so quickly that I barely had time to register the thing when it made an ear-splitting crack. It exploded upward in the middle, flinging a thick mist of ice crystals and steam that rebounded off the circle. When it began to settle, I could see someone inside, and when it dissipated enough, I could see that I had indeed summoned Molly Carpenter.

And she was wearing nothing but underwear.

And she was glaring at me with murder in her eyes.

Gulp.

 **A/N - Hey guys! I meant to have this out days ago, but you know what they say: If you're not happy with it, rewrite it right! :P  
In all honesty, I had trouble putting certain concepts into words, but I think I finally got it where I want it. You guys will have to tell me whether I hit the mark or not. The new job is going well (if still a little daunting), and I'll be on my permanent, post-training schedule at the end of the month. In the meantime, I've got a proper editor, so we've been going back through the story to see where it can be improved. If you would like to see it, head on over to archive of our own and take a look at the results! I'll still be writing here, so don't worry, we're slowly getting back to our regularly scheduled chaos. Many thanks to Rapidfyrez and LydiaRogue. And thank you guys for coming by, and please do leave comments, questions, or anything that comes to mind. Happy Thursday! :)**


	23. Ch 21 - Not Frozen Over Yet

I found myself desperately looking for the voice of reason as I met Molly's gaze and refused to let it wander anywhere else. Oh, sure, I found him, but he was entirely preoccupied with _laughing his ass off_ and doing an I-told-you-so jig. Jerk. Neither of us said anything for what seemed like an age. I finally broke the ice, and my asshole brain immediately tried to let loose a fit of giggles at that thought. I squeezed my fingers around my arms hard enough that it actually hurt. "So, uh…" I began. "Man, is it warm in here or what?" Oh for crying out loud, Dresden. Molly crossed her arms underneath her bra and tilted her head down so she could give me extra glower. "You want me to go get you some clothes?" She heaved a sigh, but continued to attempt lighting me on fire with her eyes. "Right, I'll uh, yeah. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." She closed her eyes, and I swear I could hear her thinking very uncharitable things at me. I guess I couldn't blame her, but hey, at least she hadn't been dumped into the middle of a rainy street fully nude. That would have been far more embarrassing.

I made my way to the room she kept here, and while it wasn't quite a run, I did put some hustle in my step. I didn't even have to spend time figuring out color-coordination or anything. All of her outfits were neatly organized on hangers in her closet, right down to the shoes. I snatched everything up and rushed back out, not even bothering to close the door. When I got back to the summoning circle, Molly hadn't turned to face me, and stared straight ahead. She seemed to be seething a little less, so I held up the clothes as a peace offering.

"I'm sorry for the rudeness, Grasshopper. If I break the circle and give you the clothes, will you promise not to disappear for a few minutes?" She curled her lip in a silent snarl, but nodded and held out her arm. I scuffed the toe of my shoe across the braided metal, causing the circle to wink out with a little popping sound. Once I'd handed over the clothes, I turned around. It was more to make the Mantle shut up than it was to give her privacy. I thought back to her one and only birthday suit presentation ruefully. At least this time she didn't get drenched with a pitcher of ice water. The rustling whisper of fabric stopped and soon enough her heels clicked across the hardwood floor. I turned around just in time for her to haul off and punch me in the arm _really_ hard.

"Ow!" I moaned and rubbed at the stinging sensation. "Hell's bells, Molls, I said I was sorry!" She looked at me, and her face was full of irritation, but didn't say anything. "You know why I wanted to talk to you, right?" She nodded once. "Come on, then, don't leave me hanging. If we keep Yang here much longer, insurance premiums are gonna skyrocket." Why wasn't she saying anything? I mean, sure, I really put my foot in it, but usually she had something to say when I was being an idiot. She shook her head and crossed her index fingers over her lips. "The hell? You actually can't talk?" She arched an eyebrow and let her hands drop. "Wait, you can't talk to _me_? Why n-" and then it hit me. She'd been dodging me all this time, and I hadn't put it together. I knew she'd told Yang and Murphy that she _literally_ couldn't talk to me. I didn't realize that included actual speaking of any kind at all. "You've got to be kidding. Mab ordered you to zip it when I'm around?" Molly put on a shit-eating, hate filled grin and gave two thumbs up.

Crap. "I guess that means you can't write anything down for me either, huh?" She cinched up the corner of her mouth and pointed at me. Double-crap. "But you can play charades and answer yes or no questions." She imped a grin and golf-clapped, then gave me a 'so what' look as she jerked her hands up in the air. "There's no need to get all sarcastic with me, Molls. Is this because of that stunt we pulled on her in front of Marcone?" She held out her hand and waggled it back and forth. "So there's more to it than that. Hmph. Why can't anything be simple?" I got no sympathy from her, just a 'you must be joking' stare.

Man, this was going to get old real fast. We needed to learn sign language or something. "So you _could_ talk to me, but if you do, what? Punishment?" We went back and forth for a few minutes like that and she finally got the point across that if she talked or taught me what I needed to know, dire consequences would follow. I was about to ask her for suggestions when she chopped the edge of one hand into the palm of her other, then pointed at an invisible watch. "Gotta go already? I'm not going to ask her – no way." I got the 'that's the smartest thought you've had all day' look. "What about Lea?" She shook her head firmly and pointed at me. "I still don't get that. What do you mean I have everything I need?" She rolled her eyes and reached a finger underneath the collar of my shirt. The skin of her fingers on my neck sent shivers down my spine. She hooked the string around my neck, and then dragged my mother's amulet out. I looked down at it in annoyance. "I already checked; Whisperwalking wasn't part of the instructions." She let it drop against my chest and shrugged. Then she shook her head sadly and mimed the invisible watch again. "I get it, you gotta go."

I looked down at the little red gem nestled in the silver wire and thought very dark thoughts about the Queen of Winter. Molly must have taken that as sadness, because she reached a hand up to pat me on the cheek. When I looked back up at her, she winked at me. And then she socked me in the arm again, but not quite as hard. "Right, suck it up, Dresden. I'll figure it out." She gave me a firm nod and waved. "See ya later, Grasshopper." She flung an arm to her right and mumbled a word, and a portal opened into the Nevernever. She stepped through and it closed behind her silently. Dammit. So much for _that_ great plan.

As soon as she was gone, Bonnie spoke up. "Dad, I might have a way to help you. It's pretty dangerous, though."

"Oh? This isn't in that list of things we don't tell anyone about, is it?" I had a gut feeling that I wasn't going to like the answer, but I walked over to the work bench and rested my elbows against it. Her new comics were sprawled out in front of her, so I made sure not to wrinkle them. I'd only made that mistake once.

"Well yeah! It's one of the four left over."

I laced my fingers together and rested my chin on top of them. "Okay, so what about it toes the line of right and wrong?" I had to admit, if it was gray enough, I might be willing to at least consider it, given my other options. All I had to work with was nothing or ill-advised dealings.

Bonnie's gaze shifted side to side, as if making sure nobody else was around. "Because it sort of lets you commune with an imprint of an object's previous owner," she whispered. Everything in my mind froze. What she was suggesting wasn't mere psychometry. It wasn't exactly forcing a spirit to help, but… It was my mother. I'd had one, and only one conversation with her, during the Soulgaze I'd shared with my half-brother. Even then, I'd only been talking to a sort of spiritual 'recording'. It had been carefully planned, but it didn't sound anything like this.

My mother had been a skilled practitioner, but she had been dead for most of my life. There was nothing in the seven laws about Bonnie's working; certainly none on the White Council would bat an eye. It seemed like just the break I was looking for, and yet at the same time it still felt somehow wrong. "What's the catch, Bonnie?" I mean, I might feel uncomfortable with the idea, but at the very least I could get all the facts.

"You'll need to access a strong ley line." My eyebrows shot up at that. "The ritual basically gives the object a spirit based on its owners' experiences. You need a lot of power to do that." I opened my mouth to ask another question, but she anticipated it. "You can use one of the lines here in town, but you'd have to attune the stone for at least ten days, probably more." I clicked my teeth shut. There wasn't enough time for that. Not only that, but I wasn't sure I was even capable of doing it. On top of all of that, this was sounding an awful lot more wrong. Giving my mother's stone its own spirit? Based on her experiences while it had been in her possession?

"Is that a permanent thing?" I wondered aloud.

The skull rattled as she shook it side to side. "No, it would only last as long as it had power." I grimaced. That was even worse. I shook my head vigorously. I wanted to help Yang, really, I did – and I would – but not like this. "I don't understand, dad. Don't you think it will work?"

"I'm sure it might, Bonnie. I don't like the idea of putting my mother through that, even if it isn't really her. I mean, would _she_ know the difference?"

"Oh. Hm, I don't know. Would she be upset or something?" I doubted it. My mother had gone to great lengths to make sure that I would be safe after her… passing. She'd even made some sort of deal with Lea to help with that. I didn't know Margaret Dresden, but everything I'd ever heard or read about her said probably not. I just wasn't sure _I'd_ be able to live with it. Which meant that my mind was already made up, and that also meant there was really only one other choice left to me. Why yes, Life, I will take your bitter pill and swallow it whole. Thanks!

"I don't think so, but I'm not willing to find out." I spent a few moments questing out with my will and calling Toot's name. He appeared in a blue flash a few minutes later.

"Reporting as ordered, My Lord!" He saluted and landed on the workbench. "How may the Za Lord's Elite serve? Are there more soulless beasts to slay?"

I grinned and shook my head. "I need to find – wait, hold on. Toot, you can Whisperwalk, right?" I had no idea if it was something all Fae could do or only some.

The Dewdrop Faerie's face screwed up. "Of course, My Lord, though not very far or fast. Why do you ask?"

"How do you do it?" I asked.

"Uh, I dunno, Harry, I just do it?" He held up his hands and shrugged as if I'd asked him why the sun rose in the east. I figured that might be how it played out. Dewdrop faeries were great at simple things, but teaching an innate ability wasn't one of them, apparently.

I shrugged and reached under the workbench to grab the box I'd procured earlier this morning. "That's okay, Major General. You can help me out another way, though." I shook the box suggestively, and the faerie locked his gaze on the box. "You may have all the doughnuts in this box," his little eyes lit up with unholy glee for a moment, and then they narrowed.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"I need you to find The Leanansidhe and ask her to wait for me, wherever that may be." Toot's face took on something between glumness and terror, but before he could say anything else, I kept talking. "Once you do that, come back and take me to her and the box is yours." I could find her myself, but that would take time – Toot could do it much faster. I could also summon her, but I wanted – hoped, rather – that by coming to her, she'd feel generous. It was probably futile. I was also quite done with summoning today. Mab had deliberately cut off my access to Molly, so this was my only real move left. I had no doubts that Lea would be waiting for me, like a hungry wolf. To be honest, I was surprised she hadn't just shown up. I flipped open the box. "How about a little saccharine courage for the road, eh?"

He wasted no time picking out the biggest jelly doughnut and made short work of it. "You promise, My Lord? The whole box is mine?" he asked between bites. I could certainly appreciate his wariness about accepting this assignment, and was only too happy to pay him extra. Watching him eat was a little bit like watching a shark documentary. Globs of red jam would fly off here and there, only for him to zip around and catch them with little jerking snaps of his jaws. I suppressed a shudder; I didn't think I'd ever be able to look at pastry the same way again.

I sat the box down next to him and closed it, placing my hand on top. "You have my word, Major General. As soon as you lead me to her, it's all yours. You don't even have to share if you don't want to." I felt a little bad exploiting his greedy nature, but I _was_ asking a lot of him. Hell's bells, _I_ didn't want to talk to her. Not when I had to come, hat in hand and ask her for something. A box of sugary dough hardly seemed fair to me.

Toot finished his down payment and let out a surprising belch for one so small. "It shall be done at once, My Lord!" He thumped a fist against his breastplate and he flew up into the air, disappearing with a flashy blue pop.

"Are you sure you want to do this, dad?" Bonnie's tone was filled with doubt, and I didn't blame her. She had all of my own personal experiences with the Fae, after all.

"We're running out of time, kiddo. I don't see that I have much choice if we're going to get Yang home before her body dies of old age." Again, that was my assumption, and it might be completely wrong, but my instinct said I wasn't. I fished out another notebook and set it down next to her comic books. "If this doesn't work out, though, we're going to have to figure out how to do it the other way. Can you write down the empowerment ritual for me again?" She levitated a pen and twirled it lazily a couple of times, but didn't do anything more than that. I knew what was coming, as she'd done this sort of thing before. "You want something in return, even after you already did it once?"

Her voice was very serious when she replied. "I want to go with you. To Remnant." I leaned to the side, letting one hand fall to my hip while I considered it. I hadn't had many opportunities to take Bonnie with me when I was working, and up until now, she'd been satisfied with just hearing about my 'adventures'. I guess this time she wasn't willing.

"Are you sure about that? It could be dangerous."

"All the more reason you should take me along. Karrin might be healthy again, but she's new to her power. The people there are going to be unpredictable, and you need backup, dad." She had a point. At the same time, I got the feeling that it was more than that.

"If we do this, there would have to be some rules." She didn't say anything, but here eyelights glowed brighter. "First of all, you couldn't reveal yourself to anyone that doesn't already know about you." These Remnans were used to seeing some fantastical things, but I doubt they had anything like Bonnie or Bob.

"Of course, dad. That's easy!"

I held up a finger. "Second, there will be no acting on your own, especially in any kind of a fight. Third, if I tell you to do something, don't argue." I'd seen what Bob could do when Butters let him cut completely loose. Bonnie was considerably younger, but now I knew she had at least as much knowledge as Bob, probably more. That could be dangerous, especially in a world where things were completely different from what she was used to.

"Is that all?" she asked blithely. The pen hung over the paper, waiting. I nodded, certain that I'd covered all the basics. "Okay then, no revealing myself to people who don't know about me, no going cowgirl, and do what I'm told. Done." The pen began scratching away at the paper, and I left her to her scribing.

Toot reappeared after I'd started on a second cup of coffee. "My Lord, Lady Leanansidhe says that she awaits you in your quarters at Arctis Tor." Wonderful. Not.

 **A/N - Hey guys, gals, and non-gender-identifying readers! We're nearing the end of our time in Chicago, and boy howdy, has it been an interesting time. I know you were all hoping to get more updates this month, but as my new job gears up to the regular schedule, training has taken more of my time than I'd originally thought. The good news is that I'm starting that tomorrow night, and it will give me more free time. I've been surviving the RWBY hiatus by trying to do a little more fanfic reading. I've also been toying with the idea of taking more elements of v4 and weaving them into the story. What do you guys think? Would you rather I carried on with my own plans, or do a little rearranging? It certainly wouldn't take much effort on my part, and (in my opinion) improve the story. Let me know in the reviews or feel free to message me directly! Next chapter is fairly well outlined, so all I need to do is write it (which I'm going to do tonight - gotta rotate my sleep schedule for overnights anyway). Thanks for stopping by! :)**


	24. Ch 22 - Like A Stone

Toot and I drove in relative silence to the connection that led to my quarters in Arctis Tor. Mab had it made last year when all that business with the Outsiders had gone down. Toot hadn't needed to remind me, but a deal was a deal, so he perched on the passenger headrest and did his best not to stare at the box that sat beneath his dangling feet. Instead he busied himself by sharpening his sword - probably so he could split sugar molecules. He would speak up whenever I needed to make a turn, and even though he didn't really need to, I didn't mind. I parked a couple of blocks from the Historic Water Tower and got out. I let Toot off the hook, and after a moment of indecision, he gleefully assaulted the box. I closed the door before the slaughter began, and started walking.

It wasn't even lunchtime yet, so the foot traffic was nonexistent as I crossed the street and walked to the stone building. It looked similar to the Brighter Futures Society building. There were no merlons or embrasures, and the corbels weren't elaborate, but it still reminded me of old world architecture. The doors were modern wood and glass, and a sign hung from them that read 'Out of Order, Please use theatre entrance'. I looked both directions and only saw an elderly couple walking away. Satisfied that nobody was going to see a giant disappear into thin air, I raised my staff at the entrance and intoned, "Apartum."

A circular opening appeared in front of me that looked into my quarters in Arctis Tor. The gateway actually opened into the linen closet, but the door stood open. I could see Lea sitting on the couch. I stepped through and closed the portal with a whispered word. When I emerged from the closet, Lea didn't acknowledge my presence. She was intently focused on something held in her hand, which turned out to be a clear crystal of some sort.

"Thank you for meeting me, Lea," I said as I took a seat across from her.

She smiled and placed the stone on the table between us, and then reclined into the couch. "It is nothing to me, godson. I am pleased that you chose to seek me out, though your servitor would not say why." Her grin exposed long canines framed in blood-red lips, which, coupled with her slitted amber eyes, never failed to disturb me. I mentally shrugged it off and got straight to the point.

"I need to learn how to Whisperwalk, and since Mab won't let Molly talk to me, it seems like I have to look elsewhere." I wasn't happy about it, but I managed to keep the aggravation from my voice. "Can you teach me how to do it?"

Lea responded with tinkling laughter, which she cut off abruptly. "No, I cannot." The mirth never left her eyes. There's the Cheshire Cat, and then there's Lea, who seemed to take a perverse pleasure in the art of disappointment. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that was all she needed for sustenance.

"Cannot, or _will_ not?" My calm exterior was starting to erode; it wasn't helped by the unchanged look on her face as she shook her head slowly.

"I cannot, my godson. Such a thing is not for mortals." Dammit. Why would Ulsharavas send me on this wild goose chase if I wasn't even capable? "What reason would you need to do so?"

I crossed my arms and considered telling her to mind her own business, but she might have something useful for me. "I need to get to the far edge of the Dreamlands," I said evenly, but didn't elaborate. It hardly mattered, though.

"Ah, your lost lamb finally needs to be returned to the fold." She tilted her head, and I glowered at her. "Come now, child, put aside your vexation. Such details don't escape my notice." I wasn't surprised.

"Ulsharavas seemed to think I'd be able to learn it. You're not holding out on me because you were told to, are you?" I knew she couldn't lie, but she'd only said Whisperwalking wasn't _for_ mortals. There wasn't necessarily anything in that statement that said we couldn't physically do it. Fae were tricky like that.

A frown marred Lea's lips upon hearing the spirit's name. "The Night Maiden is not wholly wrong, even strayed far from her path as she's become. Is it possible for you to learn? Certainly, though not for some time." When I raised an eyebrow, she elaborated. "What you ask is part of the nature of the Sidhe. If you survive long enough, you may be able to learn it." My blood curdled at that statement. I thought back to something Kringle had said to me at my introduction to Winter as Mab's new knight. 'None of us is what we once were.' Was that what I had to look forward to, assuming the job didn't kill me first? Was I slowly turning into one of them? Was that what would happen to Molly, or had it already? My thoughts must have been plain enough for Lea to read, because she gave a laugh that sounded like crystals tinkling together. "Fear not, child. You are still mortal; as the Mantle intertwines with you, so too will that same nature give you the ability. That does not, however, solve your immediate problem." I didn't quite breathe a sigh of relief. The possibility of being corrupted by Winter's influence was scary enough.

"No, it doesn't. We have to get out there, sooner rather than later. What else have you got?"

Her eyes narrowed, but her lips twitched. "Got?" she asked. "What makes you think I've 'got' something, hmm?"

This time I couldn't keep the growl from my throat. "I don't have time for this, Lea. My 'lost sheep' is more like a bull in a china shop, there's a gangster wannabe with delusions of grandeur aiming to take over an army, and oh, let's not forget that an Outsider managed to sneak in. Again." I mean, seriously, for as often as they managed to get past Mab's defenses, one had to wonder just how useful they really were. "I'm prepared to bargain in good faith. If you can't help, I'll find someone who can."

I started to get up, but my godmother stretched out her hand. When I relaxed back into the chair, she lowered her hand to the table between us. The crystal she'd been so engrossed with earlier floated up and lazily settled into her palm. She tapped it against her lips pensively for a moment. "There is no need to be so hasty, my godson. As it happens, I do have another way for you to complete your journey." I bit my tongue against the _amazing_ coincidence. She held up the crystal, which practically hummed with power. I averted my gaze slightly, opting instead to focus on the razor sharp nails of her fingers instead. "Know you what this is, child?" I shook my head. "It is a Membrance." My eyes widened slightly. I'd heard of them, but had never actually seen one. Membrances were mystical stones that supposedly were invested with knowledge or skills imparted to the consumer. They were also notoriously hard as hell to make, even for Fae, because whatever they gave was permanent. "This stone contains the ability of Wayfaring. It isn't as efficient as Whisperwalking, and can attract… unwanted attention. It will suffice for your needs, though."

I leaned forward and rested my forearms across my knees. "And what price would you ask for such a thing?" As soon as I asked the question, Lea's eyes lit up with predatory glee. I remembered what she'd asked for the first time we'd ever bargained with a mental shudder. My life and fortune, though her idea of what that entailed would have left me four-legged and hunting. What? I was a stupid kid, and I hadn't known any better at the time. Did she still want me to be one of her hounds? Would Mab allow such a thing? I mean, this is Mab we were talking about, after all – it was entirely possible.

"Your mother's namesake – your lovely child." I jerked back like I'd been slapped; I sure as Hell hadn't expected _that_. "I would like to spend time with her." My jaw must have made a terrible clatter when it hit the floor, because Lea's laughter bubbled from somewhere deep and dark. "Come, child, I have no desire to harm your little one. Your choices are limited, and she has such potential." I shot to my feet, and the temperature in the room dropped about thirty degrees. I was shaking, though I couldn't tell if it was from rage or the bitterly freezing well of the Mantle that sprang up within me. Lea hadn't moved or changed her expression – if she was expecting me to get violent, she showed no concern.

" _You_ ," I rasped. "Leanansidhe, you _stay_ _away_ from my daughter." She shrugged and tossed the stone into the air once, and then snapped her other fist around it with a winsome grin. I turned and stalked toward the closet and jerked the door open.

Lea's voice froze me in my tracks. "Call me," she said. The closet door squealed out of its hinges as I turned and hurled it at the couch, but she was already gone. The door smashed into flinders and knocked the now vacant seat onto its back.

"Bitch," I growled.

* * *

I'd driven back to the apartment in silent fury, which caused Dragula to cough, shimmy, and sputter the whole way. By the time I got there, my mood wasn't much better, but at least I'd stopped strangling the steering wheel. The Sidhe were interested in Maggie. She had 'potential'. I was having a hard time grappling with those facts. Of course, I knew that she very likely had inherited my gift. Three generations of wizards in her family tree all but assured it. That didn't mean the Sidhe were going to be a part of that; not anytime soon, and over my rotting corpse if I had anything to say about it.

The security guard took one look at me from the guard station, and then paled and pressed the gate button while he jerkily waved me through. I pulled into an empty parking space and just sat there, taking time to calm the turmoil of emotions. Once I started breathing easier, I reminded myself that Maggie had Mouse, the Carpenter family, and a Host of angels watching over her, too. When this was all over, though, Molly and I were going to have a serious talk. I had no idea what Lea - and possibly Mab, by extension - wanted with my little girl, but I intended to find out.

I clambered out of the car and walked to the building entrance. I considered for the umpteenth time that week that I was probably losing my mind. Damn the Fae and their stupid games. I was about – no scratch that, I was _completely_ sick of them and their bullshit. When I opened the door to the apartment, it was almost as quiet as I'd left it an hour ago. I say almost because Bonnie was humming some little tune, and she kept right on going even as I stepped up to the workbench.

"Hey, dad! How'd it go?" she asked. I sighed heavily, and didn't say anything right away. "That good, huh?"

"I threw a door at her," I said, simply.

There was a beat, before Bonnie said, "Oh. Did you get her?" I stifled the urge to growl. "I'll take that as a no, then. Plan B?"

"We don't have time for plan B, but I have an idea," I said. I told her about plan C. She didn't say anything for a full two minutes.

"Are you crazy, dad?"

* * *

By the time I pulled up to the Whatsup Dock, it was two in the afternoon. Bonnie had been quiet the whole boat ride out to Demonreach. She'd tried to talk me out of going through with it and had given up somewhere between Old Town and the marina. She had reiterated what Rashid's warning, that I shouldn't try to use the ley line that welled up from the island. It was smart. I had no business doing what I was about to try, but this wasn't just about getting Yang home anymore. If one of the Dreamlands had been infiltrated by Outsiders (because you just know there'd be more than one), Mab would be fighting a war on two fronts. I might not like her, but at least she didn't want to tear the universe apart. Desperate times, yadda, yadda.

After tying up the Water Beetle and grabbed the duffel, I made a beeline for the cabin. As soon as my feet hit the shore, I cast my thoughts to the genius loci. 'Alfred, we've got work to do.' Then I relayed images of what I needed.

"IT IS UNWISE."

'Don't I know it. Can it be done? Are there any precautions we can take?' The intellectus pondered those questions, which was a strange sensation; images riffled across my mind. Had it not been for the extra sensory information that I constantly had while on the island, I would have probably fallen down. I did stop walking, though.

"IT IS UNWISE, BUT POSSIBLE." And then I knew what needed to be done. It also made me a little weak in the knees, not only because of what was involved. For all intents and purposes, my mind would become part of my mother's gem and the 'spirit' we would awaken. If the working went wrong, I could be trapped there, and that was the _best_ case scenario. In fact, I almost turned around right then and there. I could do just that: Run home and take my chances that a month of time passing on Remnant would be fine. Part of me also childishly felt like this was as much Mab's responsibility as it was mine.

But leaving things up to her was a lot like trusting a wild pit bull not to hurt you when it was caught between you and something else bite-worthy. I started forward again with that lovely thought in mind and reached the entrance down to the well a few minutes later. As I descended the stairs, the light slowly faded. The rational part of my brain tried to point out that the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel was shrinking. The rest of me couldn't really disagree with that assessment, either.

Alfred was waiting for me at the bottom. The chamber itself was a rough-hewn circle about twenty-five feet across, and small glowing crystals dotted the walls at regular intervals. That was new, and it let me see that the granite floor had been scrubbed clean, which revealed a very interesting detail. With the better lighting, I could see that a Greater Circle had been carved right into the stone and filled with a silvery metal – probably actual silver. It consisted of three rings; one about five feet across, which sat inside the inner hexagon of a Seal of Solomon. The six points touched the inside of the next circle which was about two feet away from the walls. The outer circle was several inches beyond that, and between the two, runes of power were oriented at each point of the star. I gave out a low whistle, which echoed down the tunnels.

Merlin hadn't played any games, and I spared half a thought to just how many secrets about the island I didn't know. It was a humbling thought, and not the first one I'd had about this place. It probably wouldn't be the last, I was sure. I set the duffel on the last step and brought out Bonnie's wooden skull. She looked at me, and then she looked at Alfred.

"Oh," she said with a touch of awe. "Hi."

"GREETINGS, WARDEN SPIRIT-KIN. ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE DELVING?" Alfred asked telepathically.

"Yeah, I guess so. Are you sure we can't talk him out of it?" I squinted at her plaintive tone, but said nothing.

"HE IS THE GUARDIAN," he replied as he stretched out an upturned claw. It reminded me of withered, leathery roots. I set the wooden skull down into it and waited while the two of them shared in some silent communication.

When they finished, Bonnie spoke within my mind. "Okay, so you understand what we're doing here, right? He's going to be your anchor, and I'm going to run the circle while you delve the stone."

"Yes, Bonnie, I get it, you-"

"Dad, I really don't think you do. He's going to keep you grounded, but that doesn't mean he's going to be able to stop you from taking in too much. I won't be able to help you either. Once you're in, getting through to you will be next to impossible." Her tone was so stern that for a second I felt like I was talking to Charity Carpenter. "And don't take too-"

"Don't dawdle, yeah," I said, more from nerves than impatience. "The longer I'm in there, the harder it'll be to leave." I went over everything in my head again. I would infuse the circle and hand it off to Bonnie. After that I would tap the node and feed the energy into the spell. I was basically setting up a magical feedback loop between my mind and the stone, which would in turn awaken my mother's imprinted spirit. There wasn't much left to do, so I took off the amulet and looped the string around my fingers. Then I pulled the pin from behind my duster's collar and pricked my index finger. I knelt down and held it toward the edge of the circle. "Are we ready?" I asked.

"WE ARE READY," They said aloud in unison. I touched the bead of blood to the metal and pushed my will into it. The circle faded into an ethereal greenish light, and once it was closed, I mentally passed it to Bonnie. Alfred placed his other rooty paw against my chest, and tendrils slowly grew out of his 'fingertips'. They spread across my upper body, wrapped around my arms and back, and then, ugh, this next part was so going to suck.

The tiny vines crept up my neck and cheeks, and two more slowly wormed their way into one of my eye sockets. Even though they were so small and smooth, it felt like my eyes were being gouged out as they pushed their way back into my brain. I'm not gonna lie, my legs gave out while my skin tried to crawl off in protest, and I tasted blood from biting the inside of my cheek. If Alfred hadn't been holding me up, I'd have collapsed in a heap. When everything not mine stopped twitching, I let out a shaky breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

The pain faded to a dull ache and I became aware of another presence within my mind. I say presence, but it was more like standing next to the ocean while it regarded you and swept back and forth. There was a depth to it that held so much, and I instinctively reached out for it with a mental hand. It- He stopped me with an inexorable push toward what lay below us, and I dimly realized what I was supposed to be doing. I sunk my mind deep into the earth and carefully drew on the power of the node. I had done this once before, at Chichen Itza, and where that had been like trying to ride a storm, this was so much more. Nobody had a right to this much power. I could still stop this, and the presence of Alfred would have pulled me back – I could sense the will to do it. But I was here. This was happening.

I drew on that energy and my vision blurred with tears and colors, and a ringing sensation resonated with my entire body, setting it buzzing. It was all I could do to hold onto it, never mind _doing_ anything with it. I drew until I was sure I had enough and just held it as my entire frame vibrated with it. I waited for what seemed like an eternity, and then started pushing it into the circle. The room echoed like the aftermath of a massive gong being rung. I set the magical construct between my mind and the stone, which was now firmly underneath my thumb. I spoke a word – I'm still not sure what it was, but the effect was immediate. One moment I was standing at the bottom of the pit, and the next I was on a featureless plain with a red sky, and two purple suns. I only felt a phantom of the pain I was experiencing outside the spell, and it was a curious, dipolar sensation, holding that much power, directing it, and running the spell.

A dark haired woman materialized a few steps away. She was shorter than me, long curly hair waving in the breeze, and she was wearing a simple white dress. She looked just as she had in the soulgaze with Thomas, and her brown eyes lit up in recognition at the sight of me. She smiled.

"Hey, mom."

 **A/N - Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took as long as it did. I got majorly sidetracked with personal stuff. I know some of you have been dying to get into the next phase. I swear, I tried to trim this down so that we could get to Remnant, but it looks like we have one more chapter! As always, thank you for all the reads and reviews, and I'll see you soon!**


	25. Ch 23 - Lessons Learned

**A/N - Man howdy! Has it been a long time or what? A year since my last update here, and I feel awful for keeping you all waiting. I'm really sorry, guys! I know I said I was getting back into the swing of things, but you know how it is; sometimes being a grown up stinks. The good news is that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel, work-wise. After a year of 12-hour third shift hours, I may be getting moved to something with a little more sane schedule! I'm going to try my best to keep working on this. To try and make up for the extra-long wait, this chapter is quite a bit longer than what I usually write. I hope you enjoy it! Until next time! :)**

"Hey, mom." It was two words. The lump formed in my throat, even though I knew it wasn't really her. How many times I'd hoped for a smile like that when I was foster kid? I'd lost count over the years, and had given up on seeing many early on. "I guess you…" my voice broke before I could even force the words out. She glided across the ground and took my hands in hers, and the smile deepened.

"Look at you, Harry - you're all grown up." She reached out uncertain hands, which I took in my own. They were cool and firm, and somehow familiar all at once. She looked up at me for a moment with shining eyes, and then she looked around in curiosity. "I knew you'd probably come far, but I had no idea you'd be able to do this." A small crease formed between her eyebrows as she turned to look up at the two suns. "Oh no, no, this is no good, Harry."

I tried to keep up as she shifted gears. "Wait, you understand what's going on?"

"Oh yes, this is a form of spirit calling. I don't understand the specifics, but I can feel the source. There's a lot of wild, dark energy flooding the spell… It must be important for you to try something so stupid." She wasn't wrong. "What on Earth possessed you to use this place?"

I'm sure the look on my face was sheepish; all I could come up with was, "Gotta save the world - two of them, actually. Don't you know this already?" Faulty spirit memory would not be good at all. I briefly wondered if the Well was somehow corrupting the spell, but she set me straight.

She shook her head and gave me a sad smile. "The spell you've chosen takes time to build. I won't catch up to where you are for some time, and there isn't enough of it to do that."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Logically, I understood that the sooner this was over with, the better. It was hard to separate emotion, though. I knew it wasn't her, but in a way it kind of was.

She drew up beside me and linked her arm into mine, and then got us walking. I had no idea why – there was nothing here but the plain. "It's because of where you are. I know this place, Harry. Using the power of the Well will… change you. The danger is great, and you should hurry."

She was right about that, and it pulled me back to what I was supposed to be here for. I could feel the folds of my brain vibrating – what else was the Well doing to me? "I need to get to the far edge of the Dreamlands. Lea was willing to bargain, but the price was too high." She scowled at that, but nodded. "I know, right?" I agreed. "I need to learn how to Whisperwalk, or whatever other way I can to fast-travel myself and two others out there."

She paused to consider this for a moment. "Do you know where you're going? The Dreamlands are vast."

I nodded once. "We have a guide. Ulsharavas will be joining us, but I guess she can't or won't do all the work." Mom frowned, but didn't interrupt. "Lea mentioned Wayfaring, too. She also mentioned something about it drawing unwanted notice from the locals."

She stopped walking and turned to face me, though the look of displeasure hadn't quite faded. "I can teach you these things, but Harry, you should not trust The Nocnitsa she-"

"You mean Ulsharavas?" I'd never heard of her referred to by any other name. What was it Lea had called her? There was sound off in the distance. I looked around for the source, but all I could see was the endless expanse of nothingness we stood upon.

"She has many names, and had quite a reputation even before my… passing." The sound was getting louder, and it sounded like a voice. "We are nearly out of time, my son. If we are to teach you what you need, it must be now. Just remember what I've said about Night Maiden. Are you ready?"

"As ever I will be. What do we do?" I hitched my shoulders and did my best to ignore the now very distinctive sound of someone yelling. It was unnerving because I'm pretty sure it was me.

"You need not do anything, except maybe forgive me afterward," she said. She reached up to seize my head between her hands.

"This is going to hurt a lot, isn't it?"

"Oh my, yes it will," she said with only a hint of a smile. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to ignore the way they throbbed uncomfortably behind my eyelids. "And Harry?" I squinched one eye open. "Don't come back here again. Not like this."

"Yes, _mom_." Maybe it was my imagination, but I could swear I heard her say something very uncouth. Which I took exception to – I'm plenty couth when I want to be. That was the last thought I really remember with any clarity, because my world exploded. There was no other word for what I felt. It went beyond pain, and I've endured more than my fair share. I don't know what it feels like to be torn apart, but that was as close to it as I ever wanted to get.

Images flashed inside my mind's-eye. A man dressed like a Bedouin spoke in Farsi about something that seemed familiar. A cat skittered across a frozen pond, chasing moonbeams. Heather leaves blew in the wind under a dim forest while a woman out of sight spoke. Mountains belched fire and smoke into a gray sky. Water dripped from stalactites in a deep cavern that was lit by gleaming fungus. And all the while, I could sense a change within me, something fundamental.

It was then that I realized just how much power I was holding. I knew without a doubt that I could shatter a continent. I could find my enemies and crush them like so many bugs, easy as breathing. No sooner had that thought occurred to me that I was transported to another place. Nicodemus sat in a dingy room, poring over a stack of books, and he looked much worse for the wear than the last time I'd seen him.

It would be so easy to tear Anduriel's coin from him and turn the man inside out. I laughed, and reached out with my hand. He sucked in a breath, looking around the room wildly. His eyes closed, and Anduriel's sickly green eyes opened on Nick's forehead. The Fallen looked right at me, and they both smiled wickedly. "Finally," he said, and a chill deeper than anything I had ever felt gripped me.

This was wrong. No one should be able to have this much raw strength at their disposal.

Then, as suddenly as the scene had appeared, it vanished. I felt myself being pulled inexorably back to my body. I could see the pit, but the din of noise made it impossible to hear anything. My throat was raw, and my chest ached. "Bonnie!" I croaked. "Coll.. Collapse.." My insides felt like they were on fire, and I couldn't finish the sentence without emptying my stomach. When I tried to speak again, my guts completely rebelled in spectacular fashion. I managed to mumble something between heaves. Then I passed out.

* * *

When I came to, I opened my eyes and groaned. A pained survey of my surroundings showed that I was laid out on the cot in the cabin: Alfred must have brought me up from the Well. I was glad I hadn't needed to climb all those stairs, too. When I sat up, my body let me know just how unhappy it was – muscles twitched; tendons and ligaments tightened, and my belly couldn't decide if it needed filling or emptying again. My tongue felt like it was dryer than the Sahara Desert, and it was a long minute or ten before I worked up the gumption to roll off the bed. That went about as well as you might expect. I landed flat on my face.

The need for water was what finally forced me up with a groan. "Oh, you're awake!" Bonnie chirped from the table. I grunted something unintelligible and shambled over to where I kept my cache of supplies. I fumbled the cap off a gallon jug of water and carefully – if shakily – sipped from it. The sour taste didn't immediately go away, and neither did the wretched cramping of my insides. I brought the jug to the table and dragged out a chair to sit in.

"You look awful, dad. How do you feel?" Bonnie asked, quietly.

"Lousy," I grumbled. The word hardly did justice to describe the state I was in, but I just couldn't be bothered. I took a few more cautious sips, knowing better than to guzzle – no matter how much I wanted to. The queasiness in my belly settled a bit, enough for me to consider opening a package of crackers. Instead, I sat there nursing my head between my fingers.

"Was it worth it? Did it work?" I considered Bonnie's words and thought about Wayfaring and what I needed to do. I was immediately rewarded with a stabbing sensation behind my left eye, but there were memories to go with it. It was a strange sensation because I knew they were my mother's, but they felt no different from my own. The man dressed in Middle Eastern garb was Abu. He taught me – my mother – how to shift her perspective while in the Nevernever. It had taken weeks to grasp the concept, and months to accomplish without his help. Some of the other things I'd caught flashes of were images that needed to be focused upon. Others were places that she had seen in her travels.

It was confusing, and painful. "Yeah, I think I got what I needed. How long was I out?" I squinted out the window and could see daylight, but was worried that my plan had cost us more time than we could afford to lose.

Bonnie's reply was a relief. "It was only a couple of hours. Are we leaving for Remnant tonight?" I wanted to, but there was just no way I was up to it. Hell's Bells, I wasn't even sure I was up to driving the Water Beetle, let alone use magic to open a Way or the fancy new skill I'd just been force-fed. I needed time to recover, no matter how urgent the situation was. I wouldn't be doing Karrin or Yang any favors by rushing ahead in strung out shape.

"I don't think so, kiddo. I'm not really keen to go to war with a short nap on the spiritual equivalent of the rack under my belt." I wasn't into the idea of going to war at all, but you know what they say; wish in one hand… I pushed off the table to stand up. "Besides, there's something else we need to do before we leave. What time is it, around four?" She gave me an eye-firmative, so I stood up and scanned the room; my duffel and staff were by the door. I screwed the cap back on the water jug and put it away, then scooped up Bonnie and took a last look around the cabin. My eyes fell on the workbench and there was a moment of regret that I hadn't had any time to make potions lately. I could think of a few that might come in handy for a foray into the Nevernever.

The trek down to the dock didn't take long, and did a lot to clear my head. By the time my things were stowed and the boat puttered out of the reef, I was feeling better. Okay, maybe it was less better than it was not quite so awful, but it was something. The headache and nausea had faded to the background, and I did my best to ignore it. I was lucky that Lake Michigan was calm today, or the state of my guts might have been worse off.

I arrived at the marina and wasted no time getting tied up, after which I found a payphone to make a couple of quick calls. I got Karrin's voice mail, so I left a message and hung up. I picked up the receiver and plunked in my change again, and then dialed another number. The phone rang three times before a young man's voice answered, "Carpenter residence, Daniel speaking."

"Hey, Danny, it's Harry. How's it goin'?" Daniel was the eldest son of my closest friend, Michael Carpenter. He was a good kid, if a little headstrong. He was also a member of the Chicago Alliance, and he knew his way around a fight. His weapons of choice were knives - I'd seen him train, and once in action. He might a little rash when it came to his daily life from time to time, but his skill was a different matter altogether. It wasn't for nothing that his father had once been a Knight of the Cross, and Charity, his mother, was no slouch either.

"Harry," he replied soberly. "Is there trouble?" Did I mention he was determined? I never liked the idea that anyone associated me with bad news as a first blush reaction, but I had to make allowances. Michael's early retirement had come as a direct result of helping me several years ago.

"No – well, yes, but nothing local. I'm heading out of town soon and wanted to spend some time with Maggie before we go. Is your mom around?" I heard a commotion of children's voices in the background, and Daniel covered the mouth of the receiver to shout something indistinct. When he came back over the line, he sounded more relaxed, if a little exasperated.

"Yeah, she's home, but she's got her hands full with chaos and dinner," he answered. "Come on over." He paused for a moment, and then asked "Do you need me to pack Maggie an overnight bag? When are you leaving?"

We'd had Maggie stay over several times during the summer, and Karrin hadn't ever given it a second thought. Even though she claimed not to be good with kids, they got along quite well. "That's not a bad idea. We'll probably head out before lunchtime tomorrow." I heard Charity calling out to Daniel in the background, followed by his muffled 'Hang on, I'll ask!' "What's that she's asking about?"

Daniel chuckled, and for a moment he sounded just like Michael. "She wants to know if you're staying for dinner, which is in about an hour."

I shook my head. "Not this time. We have an… out of town guest, and I have news for them that shouldn't wait. I'll be along shortly."

"Alright, Harry, see you then," he said. The wild laughter of children got closer. "Uh oh, incoming - gotta go!" and the line went dead. I looked at the receiver with an amused grin, and then hung it up. By the time I got back to the car, there was a little spring in my step, and my head didn't ache as much as it had an hour ago. After everything that had happened for the last couple of days, the drive to the Carpenter house was relaxing. I suppose that might speak to the kind of week I'd been having, but my mood was too good to dwell.

* * *

By the time I'd pulled up to the two-story colonial home, other people were getting home from their respective commutes. The neighborhood was lively with the sound of children playing, dogs barking, and car doors occasionally slamming. I had gone through the sidewalk gate and was walking toward the house when a large, white pickup pulled into the driveway with a couple of honks. I waved and changed direction to meet Michael at the corner of the house.

He parked the truck and shut off the engine, and then got out and made his way around to the gate, limping along with the assistance of his cane. He had acquired that by helping me, but you couldn't tell by the big smile and the wave he gave me. He'd nearly died, and while I couldn't quite forgive myself, he had accepted it and moved on with his life. His construction business was doing well, and the limit of his recovery could have been much worse; his 'retirement' was probably going to end up being a lot better than mine.

"Harry!" he said. "It's good to see you! What brings you by?" I opened the side gate for him and clasped the hand he held out. His grip was firm, and I couldn't help but return the grin.

"I've got business out of town soon, and it might be a little while before I get back. I thought I'd take Maggie for the night." We walked slowly toward the front door while I briefly explained the situation, and had made it as far as Murphy's recovery by the time we got there.

"That's wonderful news, Harry," he replied with a smile, and though it never faltered, he looked down at the cane in his hand. I cringed inwardly; it hadn't even crossed my mind that Yang might have been able to do the same for him. For a moment I was tempted to march right into his house and call Murphy. If anyone on this Earth deserved to be restored to full health, it was Michael Carpenter. He'd had a taste of that freedom when Uriel had lent him his Grace last year.

The only problem with that was the cost. "Hey, I know what you're thinking, man. There's an unintended side-effect, though." He looked at me askance. "The monsters from Yang's world can show up here, now, or so Molly says," which caused Michael to frown, but he nodded. "But hey, I'm not convinced that's the whole story. I'm willing to take the chance if you are."

Michael chuckled ruefully and shook his head, and he reached up to grip my shoulder with his free hand. "You may be, my friend, I am not. If the Lord willed it, I would be healed – I am content to leave things as they are." And that was Michael for you. His faith had carried him through everything that life had thrown at him. He wasn't about to abandon that belief now.

I was about to get back to the current goings-on when the front door opened and disgorged the wooly form of Mouse, immediately followed by Maggie and Charity. Mouse barked happily as he barreled into my legs, causing me to stumble backward. He whuffed and rubbed his face all over my hands, and I instinctively started giving him scratches. He responded with more happy noises and a judicious amount of slobbery kisses. "Hi, daddy!" Maggie shouted as she jumped off the top step. I had to kneel down to catch her, and her little arms wrapped around my neck and hugged it tightly. She planted a kiss on my cheek and gave me a toothy grin, all while Mouse yipped and bounced around us. "Are we going to see Murphy and Yang? Missus Carpenter said I was going to spend the night."

"You betcha, Spaghetti-O!" I replied, giving her a kiss on the forehead, which caused her to wrinkle up her nose and giggle. "I thought we'd introduce Yang to the wonders of Star Wars. What do you think, kiddo, you down to watch it again?"

Maggie's eyes grew round with unfeigned surprise. "She's never seen Star Wars?" I shook my head with a quiet 'nope'. "Then I don't mind. Everyone needs to see it!" I agreed wholeheartedly and gave her back a gentle pat. "Is Mouse gonna come, too?"

"Of course he is, Maggie. Mouse never gets tired of Star Wars, isn't that right boy?" He bounced his front paws off the ground a couple of times and barked agreeably. Charity had gone to stand beside Michael, and had curled an arm around his waist. He in turn rested his arm around her shoulder, and they both watched us with happy smiles. "Charity," I said, standing up and hoisting Maggie up into the crook of my arm. "How are you?"

"Well enough. Murphy called to say that she and Yang would have dinner ready soon." She held up Maggie's Hello Kittie backpack, which I took. "Daniel can come by tomorrow morning if you're short on time. Do you know when you might be back?"

I pondered that for a moment; I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to how long it might take to sort things out on Remnant. "It's hard to say for sure. There's a time differential that works in our favor, but a few days, at least – a week at most." A full week would work out to nearly two months. I dearly hoped that things wouldn't take that long, but there was no way of knowing. "If it looks like it will be longer, I'll try to get word to you." She accepted that with a dip of her head. Charity had been no stranger to having Michael absent for extended periods. "We should probably get going, get some food in this little belly right here," I said, gently wiggling a finger at Maggie's tummy, which elicited squirms and giggles and protestations from her.

The Carpenters in turn laughed and made their farewells. Michael held out a hand while Charity went back inside. I hooked the strap of Maggie's book bag with two fingers of my other hand and grasped his. "God go with you, Harry, be safe." And then he ruffled Maggie's hair. "See you soon, Maggie."

She smiled and waved at him. "G'bye Mister Carpenter!" He gave us a final wave and then limped up the steps and followed his wife into the house. I turned and started back to the car. "What's a time diff- differ-," she struggled with the word and gave up. "What's a time diff-thingy, dad?"

I hummed for a moment, trying to think of how best to explain it in terms she would understand. "You know how the sun comes up and goes down every day?" She nodded and made an 'uh-huh' noise. "Well, while our one day goes by, Yang's world gets eight days." She made an o face and frowned, and it was adorable to watch her try to wrap her little brain around that concept.

She settled on the one thing that made sense to her, though. "That's an awful lot of bedtimes for just one day, daddy." Of course it would come down to that.

I chuckled and said, "I suppose so, but how would they know that?" She shrugged her tiny shoulders and I set her down to open the car door. It was then that I was reminded of a shortcoming of later model cars: The seatbelt wasn't really designed for small children. That didn't stop Maggie from clambering into the seat, and Mouse followed her nimbly. It was wide enough that he'd be able to squeeze in between us and rest his paws and muzzle across her legs. I was confident of his ability to keep her safe, but, note to self, see about a proper harness. I buckled the lap belt and she pulled the strap until she could tuck it under her arm. Apparently this wasn't her first rodeo. I tousled her hair and shut the door, and then went around and got in my side of the car.

We had barely pulled away from the curb when Maggie asked, "Do you really hafta' take Yang back home?" I looked over at her, and she turned her face toward me while she stroked Mouse's mane of fur. "She's really nice."

"Yeah," I replied, "she is. I promised to help her get back home to her family and friends." That much was certainly true, but she deserved to hear the rest of it. "There are also some monsters they need help with."

"Are they scary monsters?" she asked.

"I've seen scarier," I shrugged. Also true. In fact, now that I thought back to the encounter at the warehouse, Itsy aside, the people-sized ones had been a piece of cake. "They're called Grimm, and they're pretty easy to beat." I wasn't about to get into the Outsider angle. Maggie knew what I did for a living, but there were some things she was just better off not knowing about. Hell's bells, I was a grown man and I might have been better off not knowing.

"Is Yang's home far away? Can she come visit us?"

I resisted the urge to shake my head. I didn't want to burst her bubble, but I couldn't lie to her either. "It's really, really far away, kiddo. I wouldn't say never, but any time she comes here, lots of time passes for her people." I looked at my daughter, and she was frowning, as if she were thinking very hard. "Think of it this way. We get to share something that nobody from her world has ever seen. I bet you she'll never forget it." I risked another glance from traffic, and the frown remained. "What'cha thinkin' about?"

Maggie chewed on her lip for a moment before answering with another question. "Are you going to use magic to take her home?" Trust a kid to answer a question with another question. She'd been spending too much time with Molly. Or maybe that was just a kid thing. I vaguely recalled being pretty inquisitive at her age.

"Kinda. Why do you ask?"

"If I can learn magic, can we go visit Yang?" The question stunned me. Granted, Maggie had only been in my life a short time, but she had never asked about the particulars of what I did. I drove for a while without answering, wondering how to approach her question – which, I might add, probably wasn't totally about Yang.

"Are you sure you want to learn magic, Maggie? It's not an easy thing, you know." Anything to stall for time. Was I really considering this? My only real experience in teaching someone else had been with Molly, and that had gone rather well, for the most part. It could have turned out much worse, as in both of us being dead. That would be one advantage in teaching Maggie: Molls had started out in her teens, and had been largely self-taught. No one had been there to explain the rules to her, and it had very nearly gotten her executed by the Council. My daughter, on the other hand, could have things clearly spelled (ha-ha) out.

There was another thing that I didn't like to admit, and it had been on my mind ever since I'd come back into her life. Maggie had already been a target once because of who I was and what I did. It had cost her mother's life, and it was bound to happen again, no matter how much I planned for it. Sure, she had Mouse, but he wasn't invincible, and she couldn't be at Michael's twenty four-seven.

Maggie remained silent for a minute or two before she spoke up again. "Is it harder than math?" The look she gave me was dubious.

I barked out a laugh. "Way harder than math, which is something else you need, by the way."

"So I have to do well in school, too?" The look of doubt changed to one of consternation when I nodded.

"You can't do magic without math most of the time, kiddo." That wasn't always necessarily true, but magic was about order as much as it was about will and intent. "Careful measurements are important. Too much fluid for a potion base might singe off your eyebrows, if you're lucky."

Her face lit up with shock, and one of her hands slapped against her forehead to make sure hers were still there. "Really?" she squeaked. "Has that happened to you before?"

"Yup. And that's just one example; I've had other accidents, too." Most of those hadn't been due to faulty calculations on my part, but the lesson was still valid. Then I remembered something Ebenezar had told me once after said de-eyebrowing incident. "You have to be careful with magic, kiddo, because magic will never be careful with you." She nodded, wide-eyed, and hugged her little arms around Mouse's neck just a little tighter.

I let that thought sink it with her for a few miles before I asked the most important question. "Why else do you want to learn?" I held up a finger when she started to answer. "I want you to think about that for a while. Magic isn't just a way to get you things that you want." That was a truth I'd been fortunate to learn early on. Warlocks came about when people gave in to selfish desires. Sometimes it was an honest mistake with the right motivations, but it was very easy to slip down the wrong path. If we really were going to do this, I wanted to be sure Maggie had good reasons.

Maggie had gone back to frowning.

"I haven't said no, but this is really important, spaghetti-o. Why you do something is just as important as what you do, understand?"

She nodded and settled back into the seat to stare out the window. Her thinking cap was on, and she absently fidgeted with Mouse's collar. Mouse craned his neck around and gave me a big doggy grin. I shrugged and winked at him.

The rest of the drive back to Karrin's was mercifully quiet without being awkward. Our time together was often brief, and we hadn't ever had a serious discussion like this before. She was a good child, and her asking for something was rare. Up to this point our time had been filled with silly stories, play time at the park, and games of pretend.

I looked at her as she pondered the heavy question of why and couldn't help but feel a little sad. She had every appearance of taking this as seriously as any adult would. No parent can ever be prepared for the first signs of growing up, I guess. I'd just have to do my best to help her keep a little of the occasional Dresden immaturity. Very occasional, anyway. Oh, shut up.

When we pulled into the driveway, Maggie's thoughtful semblance vanished and she cheered with glee as she tugged on her seatbelt. "Alright, hang on, you," I grumbled, though I couldn't hide the grin as I undid the buckle. She and Karrin didn't get to see each other very often, but they got along fabulously. Murphy didn't think she was good with kids, but she could have fooled me.

Maggie wriggled free and tried to push open the car door. In the end, Mouse helped her out with a casual nudge of a massive paw, and then they were off. I took my time gathering my things; there was a ritual to these visits that was too cute to interrupt.

My daughter skipped up to the porch while Mouse trotted alongside, and they climbed the steps. Once they were in front of the door, Maggie reached up on her tiptoes and rang the bell. Mouse, for his part, sat and let his tongue loll out between his jaws.

The door opened and Karrin stuck her head out. She looked around, pretending not to see her pint-sized visitor or her pony-sized companion. "Oh, what's the world coming to when people ring my doorbell and run off?" Murphy decried in her best little old lady voice.

Maggie giggled and waved her arms, "I'm down here, Miss Murphy! Can we come in and play?"

"Oh!" Murphy exclaimed, hands flying to her cheeks in mock surprise. "It's a munchkin and a horse of a different color! Do you represent the Lollipop Guild?" Maggie laughed and shook her head. "Well, I guess you can come in, then," she said. She took a step back and pushed the door open. Maggie stepped inside, and Mouse followed behind her. He paused to snuffle at Karrin's outstretched hand, and she rewarded him collar scritchies that made him shiver and make happy noises.

I walked up to the door with my duffel slung over my shoulder and staff in hand. Karrin took one look at me and shook her head. "You look like crap, Harry."

"Gee, thanks. I suppose it could be worse, though." She gave me a questioning look. "I could be cripplingly short, too."

Karrin laughed and slapped playfully at my elbow, and then she took a fistful of my duster and hauled on it gently. "Get down here, Jolly Green Giant." I let her drag me down and planted a kiss on her lips. When we came up for air, she gave me a concerned look. "Your eyes are more bloodshot than white, Harry. Are you okay?" Her tone was muted.

"It's nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." I straightened, but she didn't let go; her eyebrows were knitted together. "No, really - I might be a little rough around the edges, but I've had it way worse." She gave me the sideways look of disbelief. "Would it make you feel better if I let you carry me inside?" She snorted and put her arm around my side, and we went inside.

I could hear Maggie and Yang chattering happily in the kitchen as I put my staff in the popcorn tin and unzipped my duffel to retrieve Bonnie. Karrin took my duster and hung it on a hook. Bonnie's eyelights twinkled in their sockets, and I took her to the bookshelf and set her down.

"Karrin, did you say anything about tonight's entertainment to Yang?"

Karrin shook her head. "Only that you have a surprise for her." She gave me a pat on the arm and shooed me toward the hallway. "Dinner's just about done. You smell like sweaty roots and dirt – why don't you go clean up?" She gave me a wink when I wrinkled my nose in agreement, and went back to the kitchen.

I made a beeline for the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes from my bag. I didn't bother with the light; I just stripped, ran cold water and got scrubbed. The icy pinpricks did as much to invigorate me as the soap, and soon enough I was briskly toweling myself dry.

Once I had dressed and deposited my not-so shockingly filthy garments into the hamper, I paused long enough to hop on one foot, then the other as I slipped on a pair of socks. After that, my mostly-settled stomach was thoroughly complaining about being empty, and I went to the kitchen to join everyone else.

Karrin was at the stove, tending to three different pots, the contents of which weren't hard to guess; since she'd known that Maggie was coming, it was likely her favorite, or the closest approximation that Murphy could manage: Spaghetti. I glanced over at the windows that they'd blown out with their light show the night before last. They were covered with heavy-duty plastic, and I made a mental note to call Michael in the morning to see if he could spare a couple of guys to come fix them up while we were gone.

The other two girls were sitting side by side at the table, looking at pictures on Yang's scroll. Maggie was cooing over a dark-haired girl, presumably Blake. "Her eyes are so pretty. Is the color how come she can see in the dark?"

Yang shook her head and laughed. "I don't think so, Mags. It's because she's a Faunus – most of them can see really well at night." She looked up at me. "Hey, Harry. How'd your thing go?" She slid the scroll over so Maggie could continue to look at pictures.

I smiled. "I got us what we need; it wasn't what our guide asked for, but I'm hoping it will be good enough."

Yang's eyes lit up and a wide grin split her face. "That's great news, Harry!" Karrin brought over a large bowl of noodles and the sauce to go with it. "I can't thank you enough, both of you. I just hope it hasn't been too much trouble."

"What fun is life without a little excitement now and then, Sparky?" I replied. "Trouble we can deal with, but you know what they say – a friend in need is a friend indeed." Karrin set the rest of the food down, which included a basket of garlic bread and a plate of Mondo-sized meatballs. She took two and put them in a bowl of dry dog food that Mouse sat next to patiently. She gave him a pat and came to join us by sitting on my left. I reached over hand gave her hand a squeeze. "What you've done for Karrin alone, it's worth any amount of fuss. Right, Murph?"

She laced her fingers between mine and reached her hand out to Yang. "I'm grateful to you, Yang. Harry's life throws us a few curve balls, but this has been one of the better ones."

Yang took her hand in a light grip. "Even if it means an exploding building or two?"

"Hey now," I protested, "This time it was all legal-like, permits and everything. I don't think that one should count." Yang threw back her head barked a laugh. I looked at Maggie, who was trying her best to appreciate the joke, even though she didn't understand it. "You wanna say grace, short stuff?"

"Okay!" She hopped down from her seat and dragged it around the corner of the table, and then and reached out both of her hands to Yang and I. Once the circle was complete, she bowed her head. "God is great, thanks for the friends we meet, and thank you for the food on our plate, now good grief let's eat!"

"Amen to that!" I said, and started us off by helping Maggie with her plate. Dinner was filled with idle chit-chat as plates and bowls and basket were passed around. Yang had been feeling a little homesick, and so Karrin had taken them sightseeing to help get her mind off things. I hadn't been to the Navy Pier in a long time, but she had enjoyed it as much as I had. I'm sure the knowledge that she was almost home scattered the clouds that had been brewing over her head, and so her mood was cheerful.

"There's so much to Earth," she said between bites. "Murphy was telling me that there's something like ten billion people on this planet, which blows my mind."

"Oh? How's that?"

"Well, it's hard to say for sure with all the villages and towns out in the wilderness, but the total population between all the Kingdoms and Menagerie is somewhere around twenty-six million. I can't even picture how many people that would be – never mind all of your people." She swirled a piece of bread around in some sauce and popped it in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess since you don't have The Grimm to worry about…" she paused and glanced at Maggie. "It makes things like starting families easier."

"That's true, I suppose, but more people mean more problems, though most of them aren't really all that different from yours." I pushed my plate away and leaned back. "We might not have Grimm, but there are plenty of monsters out there."

"And bad guys, too," Maggie chimed in.

"Then it's a good thing we have our very own super powers, right?"

"You have superpowers?" Maggie squeaked. "You mean magic and stuff, like dad?"

Yang waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing fancy like that. My dad taught me how to fight and use my Aura. Mostly I'm pretty good at taking a beating and making something of it."

"Gee, that doesn't sound like anybody we know," Karrin said as she gave me a wry look. I responded by blowing a big ol' raspberry in her general direction, which Maggie giggled at. Yang in turn laughed with her.

We finished dinner not long after, and I could tell that Maggie was getting antsy. "What's up, Mags?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head with a coy little smile. "Uh-uh-uh," she said in a singsong little voice that just oozed Hope Carpenter. "I can't tell ya – it's a surprise!"

Yang looked over at Karrin and I in confusion. "The good news about going home wasn't the surprise?"

"I thought we'd share a very important piece of our cultural heritage with you before we got you back to Remnant." When she didn't say anything, I elaborated. "It's movie night at Casa de Murphy."

"Ooh, are there gonna be monsters?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "You'll see. Come on; let's wash the dishes while they get set up." Yang bounced up and started helping me gather up the plates and silverware. Karrin finished putting the leftovers into sealed plastic containers, and when she put them in the dented refrigerator, I could see a couple more with meats, cheeses, and vegetable sticks. Travel food. I was sure glad someone was thinking ahead. I would have – in fact, had often – just stopped for Twinkies, beef jerky, and coke whenever I had to go out of town.

Yang and I made short work of our chore and went into the living room. Karrin had set up the projector screen we'd managed to find in an antique store. I scooped Bonnie from her shelf. "Movie night?" she asked.

"Yeah, you up to a showing of Star Wars?" I murmured.

"Oh sure, good choice for the newbie, dad! Original or extra crispy?" After Bob had done his show and tell on Demonreach a while back, I had learned that not only could he (and Bonnie) do that, they could also replay entire libraries' worth of movies – so long as they'd seen them at some point – complete with sound. She'd since spent a fair amount of time in front of a television or laptop to stock up on some favorites. Not that I had a lot of time for watching many, but up to that point, if I _did_ have an opportunity, my only option had been the drive through.

I grinned and set her up on the shelf facing the opposite wall. "Let's stick with the classic. Han shot first – everybody knows that." Yang sat on the couch with one leg tucked under the other, but she watched what I was doing with great interest. Bonnie had thrown up an old Indian Head screen test, and I turned the little skull until she was more or less lined up.

"So, is this movie historical, or is it all made up?" she asked. Karrin and Maggie returned from the back of the house; Maggie wearing her pajamas and Karrin lugging an old camp cot and some bedding, which she leaned in a corner.

"Well, they say it happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," I teased. Her eyes grew round, and I bit my tongue. Maggie clambered up into her lap and cuddled against her, and Yang circled her arms around my little girl like it was the most natural thing in the world. Karrin and I sat down. "Alright, Bonnie, hit it."

When the brass started playing, Yang jumped a little, but she leaned forward and started reading. "Space ships? Oh this oughta' be good. Why is it episode four, though?"

I shook my head, and Karrin snickered. "Four, five and six were the first ones they made. We don't really talk about the first three episodes." Mouse wandered in and flopped down in front of the couch, and Mister had been let in at some point; he hopped up onto the back of the couch and promptly ignored everyone in favor of bath time. "They're worth watching once or twice, but these three are the better ones. If you ever get time to see them, you'll understand." Yang seemed satisfied with that answer, and we all settled in.

Now, I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of introducing someone to George Lucas' brainchild for the first time, but if you have, you'll know what I'm talking about. Karrin and I both spent more time watching Yang's reactions than the actual movie itself. If she noticed us watching, she was too busy enjoying it right along with Maggie.

Yang thought the droids were cute, even if C3PO reminded her of an old curmudgeon. "How long do you suppose they've been married?" It gave us both a good chuckle as a brief disagreement about the likelihood of robot marriage broke out between the two youngsters beside us, but it was all in good fun.

Darth Vader made a definite impression, and she wondered aloud what his 'semblance' was. Poor Luke, he gets mocked by all the newcomers, and Yang was merciless. To be fair, I guess he is a little whiny early on, but I wasn't about to feed into it.

When we got to one of my favorite parts of the movie, Yang was laughed. "'That wizard's just a crazy old man'? Did you trick me into watching a movie about you, Harry?" Karrin snorted and poked me in the ribs, which made me squirm a little.

"I'm not nearly as cool as Obi Wan Kenobi."

"OH, so they _are_ the same guy!" she crowed.

"Daaad, you're not supposed to tell her," Maggie chided me.

"Drat! She tricked me! My plan is foiled!" I resolved to say no more, which lasted all of five minutes, and we spent the time leading up to meeting Old Ben heckling the sand people. Karrin thought it was very Mystery Science Three-thousand, and I agreed with her. That all kind of died down when they got back to Obi Wan's house, and after that, Yang was hooked.

I'd be lying if I said I made it through the whole film, but I'd had a long day. I dozed off somewhere around the time they went looking for a ride out of Mos Eisley. I guess you know you're getting older when sleep overrides good science fiction, but nobody saw fit to wake me up. It was a testament to just how ragged I was that I didn't hear Alderaan get blown up at all. In fact, the rest of the movie passed me by, and Murphy shook my shoulder so we could go to bed.

Yang, on the other hand, was wide awake. "Man, that was really good, Harry."

"Toldja so, Sparky: I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Maggie was also quite awake. "Dad, can we watch the rest?" She put on the puppy dog eyes and laid it on thick.

I squinted at the clock, which read a little after nine thirty and made a show of debating. "I dunno, kiddo, it's kinda late…"

She and Yang looked at one another and both dialed the cute up to eleven. "Pleeease?" they both said.

"Oh Harry, you knew this was going to happen," Murphy said as she finished setting up the cot.

"I am beset on all sides by tiny, adorable women. How can I say no to that?" The girls cheered. Murphy tagged me in the face with a well-aimed pillow. I snickered and tossed it back. "Score one for the lady. Don't let them stay up too late, Bonnie – no prequels tonight."

"You got it, dad! Now go to bed." She got no argument from me, and Karrin and I both trundled off to the bedroom.


	26. Ch 24 - Wakey, wakey!

**A/N - Alright, so I know it's been like, months since the last update. This chapter would have been done two weeks ago. To that I say, follow shand's first (and third) rule of contracting: Never lie on your time-sheet. Otherwise, grumpy dragons have to cover the hole you leave behind because you got fired. *grump* On another related note, this was originally intended to have two more scenes, but as I went through the edit and prepared to plow ahead, it seemed better to stop where I did. Not only that, but it occurred to me that maybe 8-9k chapters are a bit ambitious (to say nothing of making everyone wait even longer). Fear not, Remnant is near! Thank you all for being so patient and coming back for more! :)**

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The first thing I woke up to was the smell of bacon, which was totally unfair. I really didn't want to get up – never mind the rectangular halo on Karrin's side of the bed. I rolled over, expecting to find an empty space, and was greeted by sleepy blue eyes and a tiny smile. "G'morning," I mumbled.

She didn't say anything, but she did scoot in for a kiss, after which she snuggled into my chest. I wholeheartedly agreed – even in the face of tempting aromas, but it didn't last long. "You're not worried that they're going to burn the house down?"

Karrin gave a slow shake of her head, which turned into a wide yawn. "Yang practically raised her sister on her own for a while." She didn't elaborate, but I didn't have any desire to press it. I'd heard enough about Remnant to know better than to judge. "I suppose we can't stay in bed forever, though." We could try. "What's the plan?"

I propped myself up on one elbow and dithered with the covers. "Breakfast, call Daniel to come pick up Maggie and Mouse, double-check go bags, head to the old meat packing plant."

"Surprisingly well thought-out for a change," she said in a spritely tone of voice.

"Hey now, just because other things blow my plans to hell doesn't mean I don't like to be prepared." She rolled her eyes. I might not have seen, but my bones could feel it. I paused to consider. "Are you sure about coming along, Karrin? Things could get dicey after we cross to the Nevernever."

She poked me in the ribs, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make me wince. "I'm going, Harry. You made a bargain: Everything you've ever told me about that stuff seems pretty straightforward to me." She sat up and stretched, popping several joints with relish. "How will this traveling thing of yours work? Is there anything we'll need to know or do?"

I scrubbed my face and sat up, pushing the blanket off as I did. "Not really. I'll cover the basics before we go in, but it'll be a whole different beast compared to Arctis Tor." She grimaced, and I couldn't really blame her. She'd come to help rescue Molly, but she'd paid for it with a demotion. Karrin was good people, but it had cost her.

"We won't be stopping by to pay your boss a visit, will we?" she asked.

I scowled hard. "Stars and stones, no – a thousand buckets of no. That's the last thing we need is for _her_ to take an interest."

"What makes you think she hasn't already?" She wasn't wrong. "Just because she's hobbled Molly doesn't mean she isn't already playing some game." It was another fair point, and something that wouldn't shock me in the least.

I shrugged. "There's not a lot we can do about it if that's the case. It might be a test, or it could just be a bit of fun for her. I don't think that's likely, given what's at stake."

"And you're sure she's not responsible for Yang showing up on the island?"

"There's no way to know for sure, but Mab tends to be pretty direct when she wants to be." My stomach growled in complaint, and a thought occurred to me. "The Dreamlands are far outside her sphere of influence. If she takes an active role, people – things are going to notice. This way, if our little venture goes completely pear-shaped, she's only out one pesky Knight."

Karrin scoffed. "That seems counterproductive, especially after all the trouble she went to get you in the first place." I completely agreed with her on a purely selfish level. Mab, however, had made it very clear that I could be replaced if it came down to it. I also didn't fail to notice the hint of resentment in Karrin's voice.

I leaned over and bumped into her shoulder. "We'll just have to make sure it doesn't come to that. Supergirl." Karrin snorted. "Come on, Mighty Mouse, let's go- ack!" Karrin clobbered me with a pillow, which laid me out flat.

When I tried to sit up, I was stopped by a tiny, but fierce weight straddling my chest. "I'll show _you_ Mighty Mouse, you big oaf." Her face was all scrunched up, but there was a twinkle in her eye.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, Murph – would you have preferred Minnie Mouse?"

"Oh my God, Harry, you're such a pig. You're in for it now!" The twinkle became a wicked gleam as she proceeded to dig her fingers into my ribs. I squirmed and gasped for air between helpless barks of laughter. It was totally worth it, and two could play that game. She shrieked when I returned the favor. The great Tickle War wound down after a couple of minutes, leaving us both breathless and giggling like a couple of high schoolers.

"Hey, what's going on back there?" Yang's muffled shout came from down the hall. "There are children in this house!"

"Yeah!" Maggie cried out. "Stop being all weird and come eat! We made pancakes!"

Karrin's forehead was resting on mine, and we both snickered. "I guess they have a point." She kissed me on the nose and rolled off, feet landing with a little thump. "Be right there!" I sat up and dragged my jeans off the bedpost. In spite of the gnawing in my belly, I wasn't in any hurry to take my eyes away from the sight of Karrin as she tugged a pair of pants over her hips. She caught me looking, but didn't say a word; instead she smiled to herself and pitched a t-shirt my way.

Once we were dressed, we made our way to the kitchen, where we found Yang and Maggie sitting next to one another at the table. They were whispering conspiratorially and giggling, which stopped the second we entered. "Good morning!" they both chirped in unison. "Did you 'sleep' well?" Yang asked, holding up finger quotes to emphasize the word, which caused Maggie to break out into another fit of giggles. I guessed – hoped, really – that she was laughing at Yang's sarcasm and not the actual implication of said mockery. Mouse sat beside Maggie and whuffed when she whispered in his ear.

Karrin and I looked at one another with knowing grins. "Sure. You two enjoy the movies?" I asked as we sat down with them. There were plates heaped with eggs, sausage links, bacon, and pancakes, as promised.

"Oh man, Harry, we gotta take a copy of those. Ruby and dad will _totally_ lose their minds!" She gave us a lopsided grin. "Come to think of it, I think a lot of people will take a shine to it."

I didn't bother suppressing a smile of my own. The thought of turning an entire world was a bit ridiculous, but awesome at the same time. Still, the moment didn't last very long. "I like where your head's at, Sparky, but we do have more important things to see to." I speared some sausage links while Karrin scooped eggs onto our plates. "We'll see what can be done if there's time."

Yang mock pouted, but nodded as we started on the seven course breakfast. After watching a tall stack of pizza being devoured in record time, no amount of food they consumed was going to surprise me. "Yeah, I guess we have to prioritize. Gotta _get_ home before we can do anything else." To that I could only nod and mmhm around a mouthful of fluffy eggs, which had been seasoned with something that made them much tastier. "Will we have to worry about monsters on the way?"

I finished chewing and swallowed, and then glanced at Maggie, who was attempting to surreptitiously sneak bacon to Mouse. "As a general rule, one should always expect critters in the Nevernever." Mouse gobbled his treat and licked his chops, completely unabashed. "We'll be crossing into Winter territory, which isn't necessarily safer, but I don't expect any trouble. After that we'll be relying on our guide." Murphy shot me a look at the mention of Mab's turf. It wasn't a great plan, but as long as she accepted my compromise, I suspected that it _might_ be a little safer.

"I see," Yang said. "And do you trust this guide of yours – what's her name? Ulsha- Ulshar-?" she gave up and shrugged.

"Ulsharavas, and no, but I trust her to honor the bargain. Creatures from the spirit realm are funny that way." I crossed my fingers under the table where nobody could see. "I've dealt with her before, and she seems more reasonable that most. Frankly, I'm more concerned with how things will go once we _get_ to Remnant."

Yang's brow furrowed, and her head tilted to the side. "What do you mean?"

I gestured at my face. "You may not have noticed, but we Earthlings don't exactly look like your people. How are they going to react to us? Will they believe we're there to help, or will there be some mistrust to overcome?"

Yang relaxed back into her chair and waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, _that_. I wouldn't worry about it. We're used to seeing weird stuff all the time. Well, maybe not everybody _all_ the time, but I can vouch for you; that should be good enough." I did my best not to fix her with a glare. She was being awfully flippant about the whole thing. "What?"

"Who's in charge? Where do we go if we get separated?" The questions gave her a moment's pause, and she started to get the picture. "It would be great if we got a pass on just your say-so, but my luck is never that good."

She dithered and poked her fork through the eggs on her plate. "I see your point," she said, and her tone was less confident. After a moment, she shook her head to clear whatever unpleasant thoughts were rolling around in there. "General Ironwood is – or at least he was – in charge of the security for the Vytal festival. He's the Headmaster of Atlas Academy, and he's also their military leader. He just kind of took over Vale's defense when things fell apart."

I already didn't like the sound of that, but maybe it wasn't as bad as all that. "Okay, so he's a military man. What's he like?" I was not hopeful. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for folks in uniform, but often the people in charge tended to be giant a-holes. Or maybe that was just me projecting.

Yang snorted. "He's a harda-" her eyes widened and flicked over to my very impressionable daughter. "He's a tough customer, but he's... Well, fair isn't exactly the word I would use, but he seems like a stand up guy." I nodded. "If you can't find him, the next best person would be Professor Goodwitch. Here, let me show you." She paused to pick up her scroll and fiddle with it. Also, was she freaking kidding me with these names? Ironwood? _Goodwitch_. Next she'd be telling me the bad guys' Queen was the Wicked Witch of the West, complete with Flying Monkeys. I managed not to snort around another bite of sausage, but only just.

Yang held out the scroll, which held a picture of a bespectacled blonde woman that just screamed 'disapproving librarian' with that slight frown and crossed arms – and was that a riding crop in one hand? "She's the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon, and the last I knew, they were coordinating things." She sighed and swiped across the screen with an index finger a few times. "If you can't find either of them, my dad might be able to help." She held it up again, and it was easy to see which parent Yang took after. I studied the man's face carefully and filed it away for later. "But he was out in the wilderness with Blake, Weiss and Qrow, so maybe not." She ran out of steam at that point.

"Alright so we have a few names and faces, but suppose we don't run into anyone who knows how to reach them." I put down my fork and wiped my mouth with a napkin. I wasn't sure what the next logical step might be.

Karrin, however, was the soul of practicality. "What about the police force in Vale? Or this General Ironwood's soldiers? Would they be able to help us get in touch?"

Yang smacked her forehead. "Of course, duh! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Sometimes the simplest solutions aren't the most obvious," Karrin replied. I smiled at her, acknowledging her point. "That doesn't mean they won't take us seriously, though. Is there anything that might get their attention?"

"But not in a bad way," I interjected.

"Hmm," Yang mused. She set her elbow on the table and put her chin into her hand to think about it.

Maggie, who had been quiet as a mouse, spoke up. "What about that Ozpin guy?" We all looked at her. "Yang was telling me about her school and…" whatever thought she was having, she looked to Yang for help finishing it.

Yang seemed doubtful at first, but then sat up slowly. "You know, that might not be such a bad idea after all." When we gave her blank stares, she explained. "During the battle at Beacon, he went missing. Like, nobody knows where he went." She paused, giving me a regretful look. "It wouldn't be the whole truth, but…"

I thought I knew where she was going with it though. "But it might pique their interest if we come along with a possible lead to find him, is that what you're getting at?" She inclined her head. As ideas went, it wasn't colossally bad. I hadn't even realized the man existed, let alone wasn't anywhere to be found, apparently. Well, if there was one thing I was good at, it was finding people. Usually. "It's an idea, anyway." I pushed my plate forward and stood up. "I guess there's no putting it off. I'll go call Danny."

Conversation returned to the amazing feats of Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion as I wandered to the front room to make the phone call. Hope – Hobbit – answered the phone, who sent little Harry off to find his big brother. After a few minutes of idle chatter with her, I coordinated Maggie's pickup along with a plan for someone from Michael's crew to come fix the kitchen windows, and someone to look after Mister – as if he needed it, but Daniel assured me that he'd take care of cat food and whatnot while we were away.

After I hung up the phone, there was a tug on the hem of my shirt. Maggie had managed to sneak up on me. "What's up, kiddo?"

She fixed me with a serious look. "I think I have a good reason, Dad. For learning magic."

I knelt down so our eyes were level. Okay, so I had to crouch a little too. "Let's hear it, kiddo." I wasn't expecting a dissertation or anything, but I needed – hoped, really – to hear a good, honest reason.

"You use magic to help people. Yang uses her powers to help people, too." I smiled encouragingly. "Maybe I can learn how to help people like you guys." It was sweet, and a little flattering, and dammit if there wasn't just the tiniest bit of a lump forming in my throat. She was so like her mother.

"And you came up with this all on your own, did you?"

She had the sense to be a little bashful at that point. "Kinda."

"Yang?" She nodded mutely. "Well, I suppose it was bound to come up, especially during a Star Wars marathon." She shrugged, and wasn't it just adorable? "Alright, that's good enough for me. I can't teach you much of anything right now-"

"Because you hafta help Yang get home!" she piped, thrusting a tiny fist in the air, which she sort of let drop after a second or two.

"That's right. Are you sure though?" I held up a finger and cocked my head to the side when she started to answer. "It's not all fun and games, Maggie. Learning magic is _hard_ work. Headaches, nosebleeds, and a few other not-so-fun things can happen." A little frown appeared on her face, but I knew that look. "I'm totally serious. The first time I called fire, my head hurt the whole rest of the day."

"Oh," she said. "Did you get a lot of nosebleeds, too?"

I shook my head. "It happens, but they go away after a while."

"Well that doesn't sound _too_ bad. Mister Carpenter always says you know you did a good job if you're a little sore after."

"He's a smart man." I grinned and brushed a finger across her nose. "Alright, I'll tell you what. We'll talk about it some more when I get back. I'll think about the best way to start you off while we're gone - that sound fair to you?"

She responded by flinging herself into my chest and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Uh-huh. Thank you, daddy!" And wouldn't you know it, that lump was right back where it was a minute ago.

Stupid lumps.

Totally worth it, though.

I might not feel that way in a year or two, but I chose to be optimistic. And her training would be _nothing_ like mine had been at first. I'd made the same promise to myself for Molly. Apart from forcing her to unlearn some very bad habits, I felt like it had been one that I'd kept, in spite of how things had turned out for her.

After a good minute of me being squeezed, I patted her on the back and pulled her by the shoulders a little bit. "Alright, why don't you go get changed out of your jammies and we'll start getting stuff together." She skipped off to do just that, brushing past Karrin with a playful giggle. "How long have you been standing there?" I asked as I stood back up.

She walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Long enough," she said. The look on her face was a happy one. "Are you sure it's such a good idea? Teaching her? Your world – our world isn't exactly the safest place to be in, sometimes."

I shrugged. "Maybe so, but I know what I _don't_ want, which is for her to go elsewhere." Just look what had happened to Molly. Add to that the fact that my faerie godmother had developed an interest… "Besides, she's young – much younger than I was when I started to learn. It might not stick, or she might not be able to do much," though that last remark came out with enough doubt that Murphy just shook her head.

"Something tells me that neither of those things is likely. She's your munchkin, after all."

Yang came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a dish towel. "So she told you, then?"

"With a little help from her new friend, it seems." I said it with an arched eyebrow, but I wasn't all that disappointed. Sometimes talking things through with others was the only way to figure things out.

Yang tossed the towel over her shoulder and splayed her hands out with a shrug. "I actually tried to talk her out of it." I cocked my head to the side and frowned a little. "I mean, I don't know much about learning how to be a wizard – nothing at all, really – but it can't be all that different from training aura, right?" She pulled her long locks of hair over her shoulder and combed her fingers through it. "Maggie's a smart kid, and sneaky, too. She was full of questions after that – she figured it out on her own, really." She held her palms out. "If I overstepped…" she let it hang there.

I waved a hand and let her off the hook she wasn't even really dangling from. "Nah – like I told Maggie, I'm sure it was bound to come up during a movie about space wizards." I really couldn't think of anything else to say on the subject. I had no illusions that she would have shown an interest at some point. "We should probably see about getting ready." Karrin gave me a little squeeze and moved off to the bedroom, dragging the towel from Yang's shoulder as she went.

Maggie came skipping back, all dressed, and she plowed into Yang, who laughed and brusher her bangs out of her eyes. "Go on, we'll keep each other entertained while you get ready," she said, hoisting Maggie up onto her hip. She whispered something into Yang's ear which elicited another chuckle as they headed back into the living room.

Most of the things I needed were in the duffel bag, so there wasn't much for me to do but double-check it. I lamented not having any potions made up for the fiftieth time as I pawed through the contents. It held a few changes of clothing, my blasting rod, a couple of bags of things like chalk, wax, and other odds and ends that might come in handy for spells. I pulled out the notebook I'd decided to bring with me and debated with myself one last time. There were things in it that I might need, but there were other things that could raise uncomfortable questions if someone from Remnant got their hands on it.

I shook my head as I leafed through it and decided to err on the side of caution. I shoved it underneath the jeans and shirts and stood up. Murphy came back in toting a bag and her flak vest. She took one look at my own beat up old bag and frowned. "How far do we have to go? Days? A week?" I looked down at it and realized what she meant. There wasn't a shoulder strap, and I was going to need both hands free.

"I thought so," she said wryly. "Hang on." She set down her own fancy looking rucksack and hung the equally schmancy vest over it. She pointed me to the kitchen, and I went. Once there, I started pulling things out and fussed with refolding the clothes. She reappeared with a pair of empty backpacks a minute later, but I wasn't expecting the wide, tooled leather belt she held in her other hand. It had a couple of pouches, but more noticeable was the holster that the belt was wrapped around.

Karrin set the bag on the table next to my things and faced me, holding it loosely in both hands. "I was saving this for your birthday, but it seems better to give it to you now." She held it out to me, and I accepted it. The leather was well worn, but gleamed like she'd taken care of it for a long time.

"Murph, this is… Wow." I looked down at her, and she smiled up at me. "Your first non-uni belt?"

She snorted and laughed, shaking her head. "As if that dinky thing would even fit halfway around your waist." Her face grew solemn, but there was still a hint of a smile as she put her hand over mine. "This belonged to my dad." There was that lump again.

"Murph, I couldn't possibly-" I began as I tried to hold it back out to her.

She placed a finger over my lips. "You can and you will; no buts." She patted me on the cheek and pushed it back toward me. "Go on: It should fit, but try it out anyway."

I leaned down and kissed her, which caused her to squeak and laugh a little bit. I pulled back and leaned my forehead against hers. "Thank you. I'm honored." I kissed her again, which lasted longer the second time and left us both a tad out of breath.

Her cheeks were flushed. "I'd like to think he'd be proud to have you wear it. Now you try it on while I see about getting this hot mess packed properly."

While she started rolling up clothes and stuffing the backpack, I unwound the wide band of leather and wrapped it around my waist. I threaded it into the buckle and cinched it. Once I had it comfortably snug, I adjusted the holster, which was set on the left in reverse for a right hand cross-body draw. My big revolver would fit, even with the extended barrel. It was good quality work; far better than just shoving it into the pocket of my duster. Sure, I had a holster, but I seldom used it.

The only way to know for sure, of course, was to get the pistol out. Karrin didn't like handling firearms in front of Maggie, and neither did I for that matter. I'd had the guns-are-dangerous talk with her, but there wasn't any reason to bring them out while she was around. There would be plenty of time after Daniel picked her up.

Karrin held up my AC/DC t-shirt and poked a finger through a small rip in the sleeve. "At least you have a sewing kit this time," she mused as she folded and rolled it into a tube.

"Sacrilege of the highest order!" I mock yelled. "No self-respecting fan doesn't have at least a rip or two." I flipped devil's horns and started pulling Tupperware containers of travel foods out of the fridge. I knew there were a few ice packs in the freezer, but left them there for the time being.

We spent the rest of the time waiting for Daniel by taking care of household tasks that wouldn't be seen to for a while. Yang and Maggie kept one another entertained with some variant of go-fish while Karrin and I stowed dishes, folded and hung laundry, and did a little bit of cleaning. The doorbell rang way faster than I thought it would have, and Maggie tugged Yang out front to meet her 'big brother Danny'. I got there just as she excitedly tugged the door open.

"Hi Daniel!" she pipped.

He looked down at her with a grin. "Hey there, shorty! You all set to…" He trailed off as he caught sight of Yang. "Hello," his voice cracked just a little. I hid a smirk behind my hand and leaned against the kitchen doorway. I hadn't talked with Daniel much, but I was reasonably sure he wasn't seeing anyone. Well, except that he was seeing Yang for the first time. Poor kid.

"Hey there Danny, nice t'meet ya." She was laying the charm on thick. I couldn't see her face, but I was willing to bet that she was all but batting her eyelashes at him. She stuck out her hand, and he absently took it. "So you're Maggie's big bubba, huh?"

"Huh?" The look on his face was priceless, and I was absolutely, _totally_ not enjoying every moment of this. Michael's second eldest was always so serious and confident, and to see him like this was rarer than the bluest of blue moons. Nope, I was not amused at all, not one little bit. My sarcastic inner monologue went entirely unnoticed and unappreciated.

Maggie, not nearly as innocent as I would have guessed, looked up at Yang and hid her face with one hand. "I think he likes you," she 'whispered'.

Yang tilted her head and murmured from the corner of her mouth without taking her eyes off of him. "You really think so? Maybe he's just slow."

Of course, that snapped him out of it enough that he blushed and started to stammer out a response. I snickered, which completely broke the spell. "Et tu, Harry?" He frowned at me, but his heart wasn't really in it. "I thought we were friends, man. Help a guy out here, would you?"

"And miss the chance to see you act your age for a change? Not a chance." His expression changed to something a little stormier, but it was marred by his shade turning a hair redder.

"You are a terrible, terrible man, Harry Dresden," Murphy called from the kitchen. She joined us in the hallway and smacked me on the arm. "Cut him some slack."

"Thank the Lord, someone with a speck of decency," Daniel said.

"I'm sure it's not every day he gets totally bamboozled by a girl," she said.

Daniel hung his head, but looked at Yang from beneath his eyebrows. "I'm surrounded by traitors. I don't suppose a beautiful girl like you can rescue me, can you?"

"Keep up that flattery, Danny. I'll get you a shovel." He actually laughed at that, and it was something I rarely heard. It finally occurred to me that maybe Yang was just a tad young for him. I wasn't sure how it worked in Remnant, but something told me that her father would react about the same as any earthly parent of a seventeen year old girl flirting with a grown man.

I cleared my throat, which earned me a bit of the stink eye from said teenager. "Oh come on, this is too good to give up, Harry." I shrugged and mimed tapping a watch. "Fine. But if I ever come back here," she said as she rounded back on our newest visitor, "you and I _have_ to hang out." She wagged her finger at him, but there was definitely a playful tone to go with it.

"Deal," he said, sticking out his fist, which Yang bumped. "You mentioned something about some windows, Harry?" he asked. I waved him toward the kitchen as I grabbed the check I'd written earlier. Karrin had tried to protest, but since it was my client, it was my damage. She didn't put up much of an argument after that. I showed him the windows, and fished out a tape measure to get dimensions for Michael, which he jotted down.

Karrin came in with the spare key for the house, which she handed to him. "Do you think you or your dad could be here while the work gets done? I'm sure his workers are good people, but…"

Daniel nodded and pocketed the key. "I understand. I'll be sure to make time to come and lend a hand, Karrin." She gave a satisfied grunt. "Recuperation must be going _really_ well," he noted with a glance at her formerly bum knee.

"You could say that," she replied. "It's kind of a long story."

"From six months to a year down to zero, _and_ going out of town on some sort of mission? I can't wait to hear it." He cast a glance at the various bags of gear. "Mom said a week or two?"

"Maybe," I answered. "It's hard to say for sure." I shrugged. "Time works differently where we're going."

Daniel shook his head at that. "I'll take your word for it." He turned and moved back to the front hall. "Let's go, munchkin!" he called out.

"Aye, Sarge!" Maggie shouted back, which was immediately followed by a muffled comment from Yang. Karrin went back to finish up the last of the packing and shooed me out. I came into the hallway to find Yang kneeling next to Maggie, whose eyes were downcast.

"I know it stinks, but I've got a little sister and friends to get back to and help." Maggie looked down at her shoes, but nodded just a little. "Here." She reached up and untied the orange scarf that she wore. As she wrapped it loosely around Maggie's neck, she said, "So you'll have something to remember our time together, eh?"

My little girl's face brightened up as she stared down at it, and she flung her arms around Yang. "You take care of my daddy, okay?"

Say what you would about Yang, she leaned into that embrace no less than she would have for her own sister, I suspect. "I promise, Mags, I'll do my very best." Daniel rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of a smile. He'd probably seen his fair share of 'girly' behavior. Mouse had apparently started to feel left out. His solution to this problem was simple: He shoved his massive head up underneath Yang's arm.

Both girls laughed and snuggled him into a group hug, which only encouraged him to give them slobbery kisses, which in turn elicited alternating giggles and protest from the pair. After a minute or so, the ruckus dwindled down into petting and scritchies, which was probably Mouse's master plan all along. And there he was, one of the best and most dangerous creatures I'd ever met, acting like a complete dope. It was adorable, and it reinforced my original assessment of Yang.

"I hope you can come back and visit, Yang." Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I kind of hoped so, too. Maggie was well-adjusted for having lived with Michael and his brood of children, but I'd never seen her take to someone so quickly.

Yang gave her the best response she could muster. "I won't make any promises, Mags, but I'll definitely try to, okay?" Maggie grinned, and Yang picked up her bag and held it out. "And hey, who knows? You mind your lessons with Harry and maybe you can come visit me and my sis."

Maggie took her pink and white Hello Kitty bag and looked at me. I wasn't about to spoil the mood, so I said, "Stranger things have happened." I held out my hand, and she came over and took hold. "Come on; let's go get you all buckled in." We all filed out the front door and made our way over to Daniel's pickup truck.

I knelt down and turned Maggie to face me. "I'll be back soon, alright?"

The look she gave me was serious. "You better. Go kick some monster butt and then come home."

I couldn't help but grin. "That's my girl. C'mere." I pulled her into a hug and held her tight. "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you too, Daddy," she whispered back as she squeezed my neck. I have no idea how long we stayed like that. No matter how many times we'd done it, I never seemed to notice.

When we finally separated, I looked at the scarf Yang had given her and gave it a little tug. It clashed with her blue dress, but who was I to question kids' fashion? "So I think I should warn you, this might disappear." Her little face scrunched up in shock, and she clutched it. "It might not, but if it does, I'll bring a real one back, okay?"

Her expression grew confused. "Is it some kind of weird magic?"

"Something like that, but I'm not sure yet. I guess you'll find out in a day or two." I stood up and opened the truck door. "Alright, in with you, Short Round." She clambered up into the seat and I helped her with the seatbelt. Daniel had a final few quiet words with Yang and Karrin, and Mouse nosed at my hand. I obliged him with a few head rubs and thumped him on the shoulder a couple of times for good measure. "See you soon, pal. Keep an eye on her, yeah?" He whuffed at me and hopped up onto the floorboard, then moved past Maggie and managed to contort his way onto the seat beside her.

Daniel got in and gave me a wave as he put on his own seat belt. "Good Hunting, Harry. Stay safe."

I tipped him a salute. "Aye, Sarge. Drive safe." He returned the salute and started the engine. I leaned into the cab and gave Maggie a peck on the cheek. "Love you. Be good."

"You too! Come home soon." She leaned back into the seat and threw an arm around Mouse. I shut the door and stepped back as Daniel backed out of the driveway. Karrin and Yang both came to stand beside me, and we all waved back at Maggie as they pulled away.

After the truck disappeared around the corner, I stretched my arms overhead and relished the sensation of joints popping and muscles stretching. After a few moments of pleasant burn, I relaxed and turned to the two blondes. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."


End file.
